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CBP Targets March 2023 for Chinese Postal Code Import Requirement
The U.S. Customs Border Protection (CBP) announced a new requirement within CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) to file entries from China. The new requirement is called the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Region Alert (UFLPA). The law requires both a “postal code” and the “manufacturer identification code” (MID) when the country of origin is China. The deployment date is March 18, 2023.
The UFLPA Region Alert will add three new validations that will be performed by CBP when the country of origin is China for the entry and the Manufacturer Identification Code (MID) for the Chinese manufacturer is declared on the entry.
The three new validations are:
- Postal code will be a required field.
- Entries will receive an error message if the postal code provided is not a valid Chinese postal code.
- Entries will receive a warning message when a Uyghur region postal code has been provided.
We encourage importers to work with their suppliers in China and other countries to ensure that the full name and address (with Chinese postal code) of the actual Chinese manufacturer is shown on shipping documents.
- If your commodity REQUIRES the Chinese manufacturer MID info (textiles, foodstuffs, etc.), then the Chinese zip code must be included in the manufacturer’s address details.
- If your commodity does not require the actual manufacturer’s MID and the invoicing party is located in a non-China country, then the country code is not required at this time as this party will be declared as the exporter.
For additional information, visit CBP’s National Development & Deployment Schedule for Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).
According to CBP, the automated UFLPA detention system will include a new, public site for the trade to upload documentation and submit for CBP review. It will allow CBP to track, review, and determine the final disposition from the site.
Full information can be found in Trade User Information Notice: Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Region Alert/U.S. Customs and Border Protection (https://www.cbp.gov/document/guidance/trade-user-information-notice-uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act-region-alert).
Please contact your Western Overseas representative with any questions.
