Preparing for the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act to Take Effect: 6/21/22

On June 21, 2022, the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act (H.R. 6256) will take effect. The law has unquestionably good intent - to protect the Uyghurs, an ethnic minority living in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. But will it work in practice? Many companies that source globally are nervously waiting to find out.

The UFLPA is clear that all goods and materials coming from Xinjiang will be assumed to be the product of forced labor unless the importing company can prove otherwise with "clear and convincing" proof. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is responsible for enforcement. But this is where the clarity comes to an end.

It is unclear how the law will be enforced, and how proactively Customs will investigate. Penalties are not spelled out and the burden for meeting the "clear and convincing" evidence threshold has not been detailed publicly.

Those are just the external concerns.

• Companies trying to navigate the new regulation are concerned about products from the region traveling through a neutral destination first, setting them up to have abided by the spirit but not the letter of the law.
• Some of the materials sourced from Xinjiang are hard to find elsewhere. Nearly half of the world's polysilicon (used to manufacture solar panels) comes from Xinjiang, Chemicals used to make some cancer drugs are also commonly exported from the region.

One thing is abundantly clear: no company wants to be the first cited for breaking this law.

For more discussion of the UFLPA and its implications for U.S. corporate supply chains, listen to or watch this week's episode of Dial P for Procurement on Supply Chain Now. Scott Luton and I were joined by Constantine Limberakis from riskmethods, who shared his expertise on the complexities associated with the region and what steps companies can take to protect themselves against the risk of being found in violation of the law.

Other content released this week:

?? It may be Friday the 13th, but don't worry - I've got your back. Listen to this week's Procurement 6 podcast on Art of Procurement for advice on how to escape procurement bad luck.

?? Monday seems like a long time ago, but I started off this week by co-hosting The Buzz on Supply Chain Now with Greg White. What trouble did we manage to get ourselves into? Watch and find out!

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?? Can digital help scale category management best practices? That is what I asked Remko Van Hoek and Gary Levitan in a session at AOP Digital Outcomes - listen to the conversation in this week's Art of Procurement podcast.

?? There is power in purpose, and I was recently interviewed by Enrique Alvarez and Maureen Woolschlager from Vector Global Logistics for the Logistics with Purpose podcast. Listen to the story behind my unexpected professional journey into procurement here!