October 2023 — Question 72
A port agent contacts you regarding a shipment of cotton garments from Xinjiang province in China. The invoice states that the garments were produced in a Xinjiang prison, indicating they were made with convict labor. Customs has published a withhold release order on cotton from Xinjiang. Which provision would apply to the provided scenario?
- A19 CFR 12.40
- B19 CFR 12.41
- C19 CFR 12.42✓ CBP's answer
- D19 CFR 12.140
Why this answer
The cited section implements the statutory prohibition in 19 U.S.C. 1307 on importing goods produced by convict, forced, or indentured labor. It supplies the procedure when a port director or other principal customs officer receives information that such merchandise is being or is likely to be imported, and it is the provision under which withhold release orders operate when information reasonably indicates prohibited labor was used. An invoice stating the garments were produced in a Xinjiang prison, combined with an outstanding withhold release order on Xinjiang cotton, squarely presents convict- and forced-labor information for action under that section, while the neighboring Part 12 sections tempt only by numerical proximity. Watch for: Guessing among adjacent Part 12 sections instead of the convict and forced labor procedure.
Original CBLE Simulator explanation — the question and key above are CBP's; this analysis is ours. Verify against the current edition before relying on it in practice.
CBP's cited authority
Answer and citations as published in CBP's official answer key for the October 2023 examination.
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