Leading apparel trade bodies from the US have supported the new Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which came into force just two days back (21 June).
The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), National Retail Federation (NRF), Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and The United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) have said that they are looking forward to an increased partnership with US Customs and Border Protection and the US Government’s Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force as industry works to amplify the US Government’s efforts to eliminate forced labour not only in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), but also globally.
In its joint statement, these trade bodies said, “Our members have a zero-tolerance for forced labour and will continue to make every effort to mitigate, root out, eliminate and prevent forced labour in their supply chains. The UFLPA is a key component of a broad global strategy, and our shared goal to end forced labour.”
UFLPA came into force and requires the Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to “apply a presumption that imports of all goods, wares, articles and merchandise mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part in the XUAR of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), or by entities identified by the US Government on the UFLPA Entity List, are presumed to be made with forced labour and are prohibited from entry into the United States.”
Earlier, Verisk Maplecroft, a specialising research firm in global risk analytics, said the new law’s expansive scope and high evidentiary standard create arguably the most challenging legal and operational hurdles apparel brands and retailers face thus far with respect to Xinjiang.
