U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is escalating its inspections and mass denials of Chinese automotive and aerospace shipments under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), new CBP figures show. Those detainments signal the continuation of a shift under the Trump administration that had accelerated suddenly in the final months of the Biden administration.
In January and February, the start of fiscal year 2025’s second quarter, 96 percent of the 2,918 shipments that CBP inspected for UFLPA concerns came from the auto and aerospace industry, which until last fall had received little such scrutiny. Now, as inspections of electronics have dropped off, auto and aerospace is on pace to be CBP’s top forced-labor target in aggregate.
A CBP spokesperson declined to comment on the figures or enforcement trend. Enacted in 2022, the UFLPA prohibits goods produced in Xinjiang from entering the U.S. unless there is sufficient evidence that they were not made with forced labor.
January and February’s inspections of automotive and aerospace shipments already surpass the total from the first fiscal quarter—which itself had set new records.
Inside the numbers: Just two of the 2,790 total automotive and aerospace shipments that CBP inspected in January and February were released, CBP’s data shows, while 2,078 were denied. The rest are still pending. The shipments were valued at about $10 million.
Dan Solomon, a partner at the law firm Miller & Chevalier, noted that CBP does not disaggregate statistics within the automotive and aerospace category. “We think most are likely auto parts and drones,” Solomon said. “However, no companies have issued statements regarding detentions or supply chain disruptions, and CBP has not explained the increase.”
The latest enforcement data also shows that nearly all (99 percent) of the automotive and aerospace shipments inspected in the last two months originated from China. In other industries, such as electronics or apparel, most detained shipments originated from third countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand, owing to differences in those industries’ supply chains.
Trendline: Before October, the automotive and aerospace industry was not even in the top five most targeted under UFLPA enforcement. The rise since then has been rapid: By December, it surpassed the apparel, footwear, and textiles industry to become the second-most targeted by shipment volume in aggregate, behind only electronics.
Big picture: CBP’s latest figures come a week after the Chinese government acknowledged for the first time that U.S. enforcement of the UFLPA was a major challenge in the region’s development. Xinjiang Party Secretary Ma Xingrui said it has affected more than 100 companies, Radio Free Asia reported.
Since the UFLPA’s enactment, CBP has inspected more than 15,000 shipments worth $3.66 billion in total at U.S. ports of entry.
