On August 2, 2017, President Trump signed into law the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (“CAATSA”). Although CAATSA primarily focuses on sanctions against Iran and Russia, it also imposes additional measures to reinforce sanctions imposed by the United Nations against North Korea under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2371.
Among other things, CAATSA creates a rebuttable presumption that goods produced by North Korean labor are ineligible for import into the United States; unless proven otherwise, such goods are presumed to have been manufactured using convict, forced, or indentured labor. The prohibition applies to any goods produced by North Korean labor in any country and “shall not apply if the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the goods, wares, articles, or merchandise . . . were not produced with convict labor, forced labor, or indentured labor.”
United Nations investigators estimate that more than 50,000 North Koreans have been forced out of the country to work abroad, mainly in Russia and China. These workers have been ordered to funnel foreign currency back to the North Korean government, thereby circumventing U.S. sanctions on the country. Other estimates put the number at up to 100,000 workers.
The CAATSA text can be found here:
The Office of Foreign Assets Control FAQs on North Korean Sanctions can be found here:
https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Sanctions/Pages/faq_other.aspx#nk
Additional details can be found here:
