In June 2021, Hoshine Silicon was hit with a Withhold Release Order (WRO) by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). From that moment on, its silicon-based products faced an extra barrier when entering the U.S. market.
Five years later, in July 2026, that barrier was finally lifted—CBP formally removed Hoshine Silicon from its "Xinjiang forced labor" enforcement list. This marks the first time a Chinese company has successfully been removed from the U.S. government's enforcement list related to Xinjiang forced labor allegations.
But not every company has Hoshine's resources or luck—the process took five years, involved 4,000 to 5,000 pages of written submissions, two administrative rejections, and two rounds of litigation before the U.S. Court of International Trade.
For most small and medium-sized exporters, that path is simply not viable. So what's the alternative? The answer is: build your compliance system and have your documentation ready before something goes wrong.
The core rule of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) is the "rebuttable presumption"—all goods produced in whole or in part in Xinjiang, or produced by entities on the Entity List, are presumed to have been made with "forced labor" and are prohibited from entering the U.S..
The burden of proof is reversed. In the past, Customs had to prove there was a problem; now, you have to prove there isn't. U.S. importers need to demonstrate to CBP one of the following:
The products are not covered by the UFLPA (i.e., the supply chain does not involve Xinjiang or Entity List companies)
The products do not contain "forced labor" components
This is why compliance documentation isn't a "nice-to-have" backup—without it, your goods cannot enter.
According to CBP's 2023 Best Practices for Applicability Reviews: Importer Responsibilities and the latest enforcement guidance, companies applying for an applicability review need to submit documents generated in the ordinary course of business that fully document the entire supply chain.
Three categories of documents are essential:
Category One: Full Disclosure of All Transaction Participants
You must identify all entities involved in purchasing, manufacturing, processing, transporting, and exporting, along with their roles. CBP strongly recommends providing a supply chain flow chart so reviewers can see at a glance "who participated and at which stage".
Category Two: Complete Transaction and Supply Chain Documentation
This is the core of the review. You need a full set of documents from raw materials to finished products—purchase orders, contracts, invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, certificates of origin, production records, raw material in/out records, payment proofs, etc.
For solar products, for example, importers must provide transaction, financial, and shipping documents for all stages—from quartzite → industrial silicon → polysilicon → silicon ingots → silicon wafers → solar cells → solar modules.
Category Three: "Closed-Loop" Proof of Financial and Physical Flows
CBP doesn't just look at contracts and invoices—they also require bank payment receipts and logistics/transportation records. Any mismatch between financial flows and logistics checkpoints will be viewed as a lack of supply chain transparency.
Critical reminder: Declarations or statements from intermediaries or suppliers can only serve as supporting materials—they cannot replace the underlying business records listed above. A supplier's letter of guarantee alone won't get you through.
Professional analysis from King & Wood Mallesons provides a clear framework:
1. Penetrate the Supply Chain Down to Tier-N (Upstream Raw Materials)
Compliance can't stop at your first-tier supplier. You must extend to second-tier, third-tier, and even raw material extraction. In supplier contracts, include supply chain transparency clauses and audit rights clauses—requiring suppliers to regularly disclose upstream sources, and reserving the right to terminate if they fail to cooperate.
2. Establish a "30-Day Emergency Response Mechanism"
After goods are detained, importers typically have only 30 days to submit an applicability review filing. Waiting until the detention notice arrives to start gathering materials is far too late. For high-risk product lines destined for the U.S., prepare a full set of traceability documents in advance, integrated into your daily business processes.
3. Maintain Paper and Electronic Records Across the Entire Process
Companies should establish a record-keeping system covering the entire production, warehousing, transportation, and export process. Key records include:
Production work orders and material consumption lists
Batch records and capacity documentation
Employee timesheets and payroll records
In/out warehouse records and shipping documents
Customs declaration materials
4. Centralize Communication and Evidence Management
Once under investigation, designate a single point of contact, unify the document output channel, and standardize the information disclosure approach. Submitted materials should be uniformly numbered, clearly indexed, fully translated, and easily searchable.
Hoshine Silicon's five-year "battle" offers a valuable reference point:
August 2021: Engaged lawyers to initiate the administrative removal process
September 2023: Formally submitted removal application—over 4,000 pages of materials in English
November 2023: Application was rejected
February 2024: Filed lawsuit with the U.S. Court of International Trade
May 2025: DOJ sent the case back for reconsideration—supplemented with another 2,000+ pages of materials
February 2026: Reconsideration upheld the original decision—rejected again
May 2026: Filed another lawsuit
July 2026: CBP proposed settlement and formally revoked the WRO
Five years, 6,000–7,000 pages of materials, two rounds of litigation, and incalculable legal fees. The path worked, but it's not for everyone.
For most small and medium-sized exporters, the more realistic choice is: build your compliance system and have your documentation ready before your goods get detained.
Action One: Run a "Mock Audit"
Go through your supply chain documentation against the UFLPA evidence checklist. Identify high-risk points where the document chain is broken, or where you're relying only on intermediary declarations.
Action Two: Fill in Missing Underlying Records
Focus on completing underlying records for procurement, production, inventory, transportation, payment, and import/export. Ensure your supply chain map, supplier lists at all tiers, input-output documentation, factory capacity data, and employee timesheet and payroll records are complete and auditable.
Action Three: Establish Transparent Supplier Management
Include supply chain transparency and audit rights clauses in your contracts. Require suppliers to disclose upstream sources on a regular basis. Consider replacing suppliers that consistently fail to cooperate.
Action Four: Address Data Security and "Two-Way Compliance"
When preparing overseas compliance documentation, also assess data security and industrial chain security requirements under Chinese law—avoid violating domestic countermeasure or data export regulations while trying to satisfy foreign compliance demands.
Action Five: Seek Legal Counsel Early for Sensitive Categories
For complex issues involving forced labor investigations, supply chain traceability, and factory audits, engage specialized legal counsel early. Don't wait until a single strategy triggers cascading compliance risks.
Compliance documents aren't for "getting through inspections"—they're for "proving you're in the clear." The UFLPA rules are what they are. Either you spend five years and 6,000 pages proving your innocence, or you build your system now so that "proof" becomes part of your daily workflow. The latter is far more cost-effective than the former.
