Forced Labor Import Ban List Expanded

Effective Oct. 29, goods produced by three 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.

The Department of Homeland Security said these three affiliated companies constitute one of the largest advanced gene-sequencing and genetic-material collection enterprises in the world and help the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region build and operate its mass surveillance infrastructure.

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 190 companies on this list.

Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg has a robust program to assist companies on forced labor issues. STR 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 STR at supplychainvisibility@strtrade.com.