Glossary · United States
Product traceability rules in the USA
Also known as: US product traceability, Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, UFLPA, Drug Supply Chain Security Act, DSCSA, extended producer responsibility for packaging
In the USA, product traceability is required through sector and trade rules rather than a federal digital product passport. Examples are the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act for import supply-chain evidence, the Drug Supply Chain Security Act for pharmaceutical serialization, and state extended producer responsibility laws for packaging.
- USA
- DPP
In one sentence
The USA has no federal DPP; traceability comes from sector and trade rules such as the UFLPA, the DSCSA and state packaging EPR laws.
Example
A US importer of solar modules keeps supply-chain maps and supplier records down to the polysilicon to rebut the forced-labor presumption at the border, but publishes no product passport.
How it applies
- Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA): Effective June 21, 2022. Goods made wholly or partly in Xinjiang, or by listed entities, are presumed to be made with forced labor and denied entry unless the importer rebuts the presumption with supply-chain evidence.
- Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA): Requires product identifiers on prescription drug packages and an electronic, interoperable system to trace them through the supply chain, phased in over a decade with FDA exemption periods for parts of the chain.
- State extended producer responsibility (EPR): Packaging laws in states such as California (SB 54), Oregon, Colorado and Maine make producers report packaging data and fund recycling. Dates and details differ by state; check each program.
- No federal passport: There is no general federal duty to publish product data. Federal policy has moved toward deregulation, for example in AI with Executive Order 14179.
- Technical documentation: For companies selling in the EU and the USA, the same supplier data can feed the EU passport and US import evidence, if its source and integrity are documented.
US rules vs. the EU DPP
US rules ask for evidence when an authority or trading partner needs it — at the border, in the drug supply chain, in a state report. The EU passport is a standing, partly public record per product group. See the global comparison.