US poised to increase detentions under forced labor ban

This year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s funding allocation for enforcement of the US forced labor ban will be set at $115 million.

Year over year, Congress has increased the DHS budget to enforce U.S forced labor trade laws. Starting in FY 2022 Congress allocated a combined $37.5 million dollars to DHS for the purpose of forced labor enforcement, and in FY 2023 that number more than doubled to $101 million - $30 million more than what DHS had initially requested. From 2021 to 2023, DHS’s budget included filling 300 positions and 150 full-time equivalent positions to support the ‘legislative requirements’ of U.S forced labor trade laws. As a result, in FY 2022 US. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detained 1,529 shipments suspected of having products made with forced labor. In the first few months of FY 2024, CBP has already detained over 2,000 shipments.

Enforcement statistics have shown that detentions under the US forced labor ban occur regardless of industry, material, or the country of origin of the good. With this additional funding, companies importing into the United States can expect an increase in enforcement efforts to combat goods made with forced labor from entering the country.

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