Additions Bring UFLPA Entity List to 30 PRC-Based Companies
WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the addition of three People’s Republic of China (PRC)-based companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List. DHS is taking these steps as part of its commitment to eliminating the use of forced labor practices in the U.S. supply chain and promoting accountability for the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang).
“The Department of Homeland Security remains committed to eradicating the use of forced labor and holding organizations accountable for their human rights abuses,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “Since President Biden signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, DHS has prioritized enforcement, and we will continue to pursue companies that ignore the law and exploit those abused in the People’s Republic of China.”
The interagency Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), chaired by DHS, voted to add the three companies to the list and today’s announcement brings the total number of entities designated on the UFLPA Entity List to 30 companies.
“We have shown again through today’s enforcement actions that the United States will not tolerate forced labor in the goods that come into this country,” said the Under Secretary for Policy, Robert Silvers, who serves as Chair of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force. “Companies must conduct due diligence and know their supply chains. The interagency Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force will continue to designate entities known to violate our laws, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will continue its vigilant enforcement at our ports.”
Effective December 11, 2023, goods produced by COFCO Sugar Holding Co. Ltd, Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group Co., Ltd., and Anhui Xinya New Materials Co., Ltd. will be restricted from entering the United States as a result of the companies’ participation in business practices that target members of persecuted groups, including Uyghur minorities in the PRC.
DHS will publish the revised UFLPA Entity List as an appendix to a Federal Register notice.
COFCO Sugar Holding Co., Ltd., (COFCO Sugar) headquartered in Xinjiang, is a company that refines, produces, and imports sugar, and trades and produces various agricultural products, including sugar, fruit (including tomatoes), and vegetable processing. COFCO Sugar participated in government-sponsored poverty alleviation and cooperated with the local government to complete labor transfers. COFCO Sugar has visited the homes of persecuted minorities in a Xinjiang village for recruiting these persecuted minorities to work in one of its facilities. The FLETF determined that the activities of COFCO Sugar satisfy the criteria for addition to the UFLPA Entity List under Section 2(d)(2)(B)(ii) of the UFLPA.
Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group Co., Ltd., (Jingweida Technology) headquartered in Sichuan Province, PRC, is a company that produces magnetic devices including network transformers, network filters, power transformers, inductors, radio frequency filters, and other devices. Jingweida Technology is a documented participant in government-sponsored labor transfer programs. Jingweida Technology and the government of Awati County in Xinjiang worked together to transfer persecuted ethnic minorities from Awati County to Jingweida Technology. The FLETF determined that the activities of Jingweida Technology satisfy the criteria for addition to the UFLPA Entity List described in Section 2(d)(2)(B)(ii) of the UFLPA.
Anhui Xinya New Materials Co., Ltd., (Xinya New Materials) headquartered in Anhui Province, PRC, is a company that produces functional fibers, special fiber yarns, other textile materials made with hemp and materials made with cotton, wool, Tencel, and other products. Xinya New Materials worked with an established government-sponsored labor transfer program, Xinjiang Aid, to recruit and transfer persecuted minorities from Pishan County in Xinjiang to work in its facility in Anhui Province. The FLETF determined that the activities of Xinya New Materials satisfy the criteria for addition to the UFLPA Entity List under Section 2(d)(2)(B)(ii) of the UFLPA.
The UFLPA, signed into law by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. in December 2021, prohibits goods from being imported into the United States that are either produced in Xinjiang, or by entities identified on the UFLPA Entity List, unless the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) determines, by clear and convincing evidence, that the goods were not produced with forced labor. CBP began enforcing the UFLPA in June 2022. Since then, CBP has reviewed more than 6,000 shipments valued at more than $2 billion under the UFLPA. The FLETF – which also includes the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Departments of Labor, State, the Treasury, Justice and Commerce – will continue to consider future designations to the UFLPA Entity List.
Today's announcement is consistent with President Biden’s recent memorandum on advancing worker empowerment, rights, and high labor standards globally. The memorandum represents the first whole-of-government approach to advance workers’ rights by directing federal departments and agencies to elevate labor rights in their work abroad, which includes DHS’s work implementing the UFLPA.
Earlier this year, DHS released its Quadrennial Homeland Security Review which added combatting crimes of exploitation, including labor exploitation, as the newest and sixth DHS mission. As a result of continued prioritization combatting the introduction of forced labor into U.S. supply chains, the FLETF this year added 10 entities to the UFLPA Entity List.
You can read more about the FLETF by visiting: www.dhs.gov/uflpa.
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