On May 17, 2024, the US Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"), as the Chair of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force ("FLETF"), announced the addition of 26 Chinese entities related to the cotton industry to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act ("UFLPA") Entity List, which is available on the DHS UFLPA website.
The announcement explains that "{t}he UFLPA Entity List addresses distinct requirements set forth in clauses (i), (ii), (iv), and (v) of section 2(d)(2)(B) of the UFLPA," which require FLETF to identify and publish the following four lists:
- "entities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region" ("XUAR") "that mine, produce, or manufacture wholly or in part any goods, wares, articles, and merchandise with forced labor;"
- "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;
- "entities that exported products" into the United States from the PRC that are "made by entities in lists 1 and 2"; and
- "facilities and entities, including the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, that source material from" the XUAR or "from persons working with the government of Xinjiang or the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps for purposes of the 'poverty alleviation' program or the 'pairing-assistance' program or any other government-labor scheme that uses forced labor."
Pursuant to the DHS notice, the 26 Chinese entities were added to list 4. Notably, these 26 entities include cotton traders and warehouse facilities that the US government "has reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable information, source cotton from" the XUAR. This evidence includes the sale by 21 of the entities of cotton sourced from XUAR on an online wholesale platform as recently as April 2024, as well as "corporate documents, websites, or media reports indicating that" the five other entities also source cotton from the XUAR.
The full list of entities added is available here. These updates to the UFLPA Entity List provide insight to businesses interested in the United States' current approach towards addressing forced labor concerns, particularly for those related to the XUAR, in US supply chains. The importing community and other interested parties should carefully review this list, including the most recent additions, and assess whether their supply chain, including direct and indirect sourcing, could be affected, and they should continue to monitor for updates related to this issue.
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