CBP Withhold Release Orders: Detention, UFLPA, and Penalties

A CBP Withhold Release Order is an instruction from the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection directing every port in the country to detain incoming shipments suspected of being made with forced labor. If your cargo is caught by one, you have three months from the date of importation to submit proof that the goods are clean, or to re-export them out of the United States. Miss that window and the merchandise is excluded, and if you also skip the 60-day protest or export period that follows, the goods are treated as abandoned and destroyed.¹

CBP was enforcing 51 active WROs and 9 formal Findings as of late 2024. The statutory authority is 19 U.S.C. § 1307, which prohibits importing anything made wholly or partly by convict, forced, or indentured labor, including child labor.²

WRO or Finding: Which One Hit Your Shipment

The two enforcement tools carry different consequences, and the difference matters immediately.

A WRO is issued when available information “reasonably but not conclusively” indicates that covered goods are being imported. Every port director detains matching shipments while CBP investigates further.³ It’s not a final determination. You get a chance to prove the goods are compliant.

A Finding is heavier. CBP issues one when its investigation establishes probable cause that forced labor was used, and the Finding is published in the Federal Register and the Customs Bulletin.³ Goods that fall under a Finding are treated as outright prohibited imports. If you can’t prove compliance or CBP rejects your evidence, the port director seizes the merchandise and begins forfeiture proceedings, with no grace period for abandonment.¹

What Happens When Your Shipment Is Detained

When your cargo arrives and matches an active WRO, the port director holds it and notifies you. You have two options: re-export the merchandise to a foreign destination, or submit evidence proving the goods were not produced with forced labor.⁴

The three-month clock runs from the date of importation. If you need more time to assemble documentation, you can request an extension during the detention period.⁴ If you miss the deadline without submitting proof or exporting, the port director notifies you that the merchandise is excluded from entry. You then have 60 days to export or file a formal protest. Do neither and the goods are destroyed as abandoned.¹

You pay all storage costs while your shipment sits at the port. Demurrage and storage fees at major U.S. ports commonly run between $75 and $300 per container per day for standard dry containers, with refrigerated containers running roughly double. On a rebuttal that takes months, storage alone can exceed the value of the cargo. Standard customs bond conditions also make the importer and surety jointly liable for the costs of destroying, exporting, or disposing of non-compliant goods, and for the costs of any condemnation proceeding if the merchandise is condemned.⁵

In many cases, re-exporting the cargo quickly is cheaper than fighting a losing rebuttal while fees accumulate.

Proving Your Goods Are Compliant

The core document is a Certificate of Origin under 19 C.F.R. § 12.43. The foreign seller or owner of the merchandise must sign it, and it must include the quantity and description of the goods, the marks and package numbers, the name and location of the producer, the carrier and date of departure, and an affirmative statement that the prohibited class of labor was not used at any stage of production.⁶

The certificate alone rarely settles the matter. CBP expects a supporting package showing real supply chain transparency: a supply chain map tracing the finished product back to raw materials, payroll records showing workers were paid legal wages without unauthorized deductions, and shipping documents like bills of lading that match the physical cargo at the port. Every document should tell the same story about where the goods came from, who made them, and under what conditions.

Financial records carry particular weight. If your supplier’s workers were paid through informal channels, or payroll shows deductions for housing or equipment that eat into minimum-wage compliance, those are red flags that will sink a rebuttal. Records produced specifically to answer the WRO, rather than kept in the ordinary course of business, also invite skepticism.

The UFLPA: A Different Standard for Xinjiang-Linked Goods

If any part of your shipment traces back to China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, you’re not operating under an ordinary WRO. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, effective June 2022, creates a rebuttable presumption that any goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or partly in Xinjiang are made with forced labor and prohibited under 19 U.S.C. § 1307. The presumption also reaches goods produced anywhere in the world if any component originated in Xinjiang, and to goods from entities on the UFLPA Entity List regardless of where they operate.⁷ As of 2025, 144 Chinese entities appear on that list.⁸

The evidentiary standard is higher. Under a regular WRO you submit a Certificate of Origin and supporting documentation. Under the UFLPA you must provide “clear and convincing evidence” that the supply chain is free of forced labor — meaning the claim must be highly probable, not just more likely than not.⁹

To meet that bar, CBP expects ordinary-course-of-business documentation: full transaction and supply chain records showing country of origin for every component, documentation identifying all parties involved in manufacturing and export, and records tracing the origin of raw materials with supporting invoices, contracts, and proof of payment. Even with complete documentation, CBP will grant an exception only if the importer also fully complied with the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force strategy guidance and responded satisfactorily to every CBP information request.⁹ Most UFLPA rebuttals fail not because the goods were actually made with forced labor, but because the importer couldn’t map every input back to its origin with sufficient certainty.

What CBP Is Looking For

CBP evaluates shipments against 11 forced labor indicators developed by the International Labour Organization. Investigators look for concrete evidence of things like debt bondage from inflated recruitment fees, withheld or delayed wages, restriction of movement through locked dormitories or confiscated travel documents, retention of workers’ passports or identity documents, intimidation and threats (including threats of deportation for migrant workers), physical and sexual violence, isolation from outside contact, abusive living and working conditions, excessive overtime beyond legal limits, deception about pay or conditions, and abuse of vulnerable workers who lack legal status or language skills.¹⁰

A single indicator can justify a WRO. Multiple indicators appearing together make the case stronger and harder to rebut. Anyone can trigger an investigation by filing a complaint through CBP’s e-Allegations Online Trade Violation Reporting System.⁴

Getting a WRO Modified or Revoked

If you’re the manufacturer or exporter named in a WRO, you can petition CBP to modify or revoke the order so future shipments enter without detention. This is separate from rebutting an individual detained shipment. You have to show that the forced labor conditions behind the original order no longer exist.

There is no standardized remediation plan. Each petitioner develops a Corrective Action Plan tailored to the problems identified in the WRO. According to CBP’s 2025 modifications guide, that plan should include worker engagement in developing and implementing the changes, a root cause analysis of the systemic problems and procurement pressures that led to the conditions, remediation actions with timelines and responsible parties, verification methods such as record reviews and worker interviews, management training on forced labor recognition and new policies, and a supply chain review of contracts and pricing structures.¹¹

Independent third-party audits are essential. They need to go beyond paper reviews. CBP looks for physical evidence such as photographs, worker interview transcripts, and documentation of changed conditions. Updated employment contracts that clearly state workers’ right to leave without penalty carry significant weight.

Petitions go to CBP’s Forced Labor Division within the Office of Trade. Questions and submissions can be sent to ForcedLabor@cbp.dhs.gov.¹² If the Commissioner determines that forced labor no longer exists in the production process, the WRO is revoked.

Civil and Criminal Penalties for False Documentation

Losing the merchandise is not the only risk. Importers who submit false documentation to move goods past a WRO face civil penalties under 19 U.S.C. § 1592, which prohibits entering merchandise using materially false statements or omissions. The maximum penalty scales with culpability: up to the full domestic value of the merchandise for fraud, up to 40% of the dutiable value for gross negligence (where the violation doesn’t affect duty assessment), and up to 20% of the dutiable value for negligence.¹³ These apply regardless of whether the government lost revenue. A company that submits a clean Certificate of Origin knowing its supplier uses forced labor is committing fraud, and the penalty can equal the entire value of the shipment including duties, freight, and profit.

Criminal exposure is steeper. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1589, anyone who knowingly benefits from a venture engaged in forced labor, including through a supply chain, faces up to 20 years in federal prison. If the forced labor resulted in death or involved kidnapping or sexual abuse, the sentence can be life imprisonment.¹⁴ The statute reaches anyone who knew or recklessly disregarded the forced labor connection. You do not need to operate the factory to face prosecution.

1
eCFR. 19 CFR 12.44 – Disposition
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1307 – Convict-Made Goods; Importation Prohibited
3
eCFR. 19 CFR 12.42 – Findings by the Commissioner
4
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Forced Labor Frequently Asked Questions
5
eCFR. 19 CFR Part 113 Subpart G – CBP Bond Conditions
6
eCFR. 19 CFR 12.43 – Proof of Admissibility
7
Department of Homeland Security. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Frequently Asked Questions
8
Office of the United States Trade Representative. Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force Release of the 2025 Update UFLPA Strategy
9
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. FAQs – Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Enforcement
10
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Forced Labor Leveling the Playing Field
11
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Withhold Release Order and Finding Modifications Guide
12
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Forced Labor
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1592 – Penalties for Fraud, Gross Negligence, and Negligence
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1589 – Forced Labor