The expansion of forced labor laws have quickly become a substantial geopolitical risk for supply chains, as regulations have morphed into trade controls that can that can keep billions of dollars worth of goods from reaching their destinations.

According to data from supply chain risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained roughly 42,000 shipments worth nearly $4 billion under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) between June 2022 and February 2026. U.S. authorities have also detained goods from more than 11 separate industries and 16 countries over forced labor concerns.

What's made it difficult for businesses is that forced labor risks often exist several tiers deep in global supply chains, making them difficult to identify before shipments reach borders.

"Forced labor enforcement is undoubtedly rising globally, but not in a predictable way," Verisk Maplecroft head of global consulting Dr. James Allen said in a July 1 blog post.

Allen cited a recent example of that trend seen in early 2026, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In response, Trump sought to enact new levies under the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, which allows the White House to impose tariffs in response to countries that fail to enforce bans on imports tied to forced labor. As part of that effort, the U.S. launched probes into 85 countries to determine whether they were doing enough to keep goods made with forced labor out of their supply chains.

That constituted a significant shift in how forced labor regulations can affect supply chains, Allen noted, as enforcement evolved to center around country-level considerations motivated by political relationships, rather than ethical concerns.

"This raises a practical question for companies: where will enforcement be influenced by geopolitics, not just forced labor risk?" Allen posited.