The Department of Homeland Security has added two companies based in China to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List. Effective Oct. 3, goods produced by these entities are prohibited from entering the U.S.
According to DHS, one of the entities is based in the Urumqi Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is engaged in iron ore mining and steel manufacturing. Its main products include rebar, hot-rolled coils, and medium and thick steel plates. The U.S. has reasonable cause to believe that this company works with the government of the XUAR to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, or receive Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of the XUAR.
The other company is headquartered in Jiangsu and produces and sells aspartame, an artificial sweetener and food additive. The U.S. has reasonable cause to believe that this company sources material from the XUAR.
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 exported 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 75 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.
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