With the implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) and other similar laws in the United States importers are facing specific rules that ban the import into the US of products made with forced labour. The US legislation explicitly prohibits the import of goods products made “in whole or in part” with forced labour.  These rules have had a huge impact on supply chains forcing operators to upgrade their due diligence for goods sourced abroad.

At the level of the European Union, the EU Commission introduced last year its proposal on the Forced Labour Instrument (FLI) which also seeks to effectively prohibit the placing and making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of products made by forced labour.  

David Stepp (US), a US Customs and Trade lawyer based in Los Angeles, has ample experience in representing and advising multinational clients on the impact of the UFLPA and will discuss with Bert Gevers (EU) among other:

·         the key elements (and differences) of ULFLPA and FLI;

·         the lessons learned from recent ULFPA enforcements;

·         do’s and don’ts for companies upgrading their supply chain diligence;

·         next steps for the EU FLI and interaction with other EU legislative proposals.