In a letter May 30, 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the expansion of the preliminary notification benefit for Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) participants. Preliminary notification gives “advanced notice of a possible hold, detention, exclusion, and/or seizure of merchandise after the entry is filed for cargo arriving in the United States and subject to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).” CBP is expanding preliminary notification to include Withhold Release Orders and Findings of Forced Labor effective May 30, 2023.

This notification is sent via email to the points of contact listed in the participant’s CTPAT account.

The letter can be found here:

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2023-May/Letter%20from%20the%20Director-CTPAT%20TC%20New%20Benefit%20Advanced%20Hold%20Expansion%20Notification%20May%202023%20v2.pdf

More information about CTPAT can be found here:

https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/ports-entry/cargo-security/CTPAT

CBP’s forced labor resources can be found here:

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/withhold-release-orders-and-findings

More information on forced labor can be found on our website here:

https://www.expeditors.com/services/customs-compliance/forced-labor-enforcement-actions