US President Joe Biden recently signed a legislation to renew the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act for an additional five years. Initially passed in 2020, the act authorizes sanctions against Chinese officials responsible for human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic groups in the Xinjiang region.

In effect since June 2022, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) presumes that goods from the Xinjiang region are produced with forced labor unless proven otherwise. As a result, US Customs and Border Protection has detained over 9,000 shipments, totaling $3.4 billion. The Xinjiang region accounts for about 23 per cent of the world’s cotton production, making supply chain oversight critical. Companies are encouraged to implement global standards to exclude forced labor from their supply chains. The renewed Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act continues to impose sanctions and introduces new measures, including a federal procurement ban on goods made with forced labor.

In 2025, the enforcement strategy for UFLPA will focus on utilizing advanced analytical tools and enhanced tracing capabilities to detect and prevent goods produced with forced labor from entering the US market, even through third countries. This will involve improved supply chain analysis and greater international collaboration to safeguard the integrity of global supply chains.