Forced Labor Import Ban List Sees Biggest-Ever Expansion

Effective Jan. 15, goods produced by 39 companies based in China are prohibited from entering the U.S. after those entities were added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List in the largest single expansion of that list to date. The Department of Homeland Security said these entities include globally-recognized companies that manufacture inputs for solar modules with polysilicon made in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, mine and process XUAR critical minerals, and grow XUAR cotton and manufacture textiles for global export.

The UFLPA Entity List is a consolidated register of the four lists required to be developed and maintained under that law: (1) entities in the XUAR that mine, produce, or manufacture wholly or in part any goods, wares, articles, and merchandise with forced labor, (2) entities working with the XUAR government to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, or receive forced labor or Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of the XUAR, (3) entities that export products made by any of the above entities from China into the U.S., and (4) facilities and entities, including the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, that source material from the XUAR or from persons working with the XUAR government or the XPCC for purposes of the “poverty alleviation” program or the “pairing-assistance” program or any other government-labor scheme that uses forced labor.

The UFLPA establishes a rebuttable presumption that goods made wholly or in part in the XUAR are made with forced labor and are therefore excluded from entry into the U.S. CBP applies this presumption to goods mined, produced, or manufactured by entities on the UFLPA Entity List, which are thus prohibited from importation into the U.S. under 19 USC 1307. There are now 144 companies on this list, including those active in the apparel, agriculture, polysilicon, plastics, chemicals, batteries, household appliances, electronics, and food additives sectors, among others.

Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg has a robust program to assist companies on forced labor issues. ST&R also maintains a frequently updated web page offering a broad range of information on forced labor-related efforts in the U.S. and around the world. For more information, please contact ST&R at supplychainvisibility@strtrade.com.