Yesterday saw another big addition to the U.S. UFLPA Entity List, the largest to date. The Department of Homeland Security, on behalf of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, added 37 entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List. The entities added include companies that mine and process critical minerals, grow cotton, manufacture textiles for global export and manufacture inputs for solar modules with polysilicon. 144 entities are now on the Entity List.
The UFLPA established a presumption (rebuttable) that goods that are mined, produced or manufactured in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, or produced by entities on the UFLPA Entity List, are produced with forced labor and therefore prohibited from importation into the United States under Section 307 of the Tariff Act. The UFLPA, as well as compliance guidance published by the U.S. government, are discussed in detail in our earlier Alerts here, here and here.
Effective today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will apply the rebuttable presumption to goods produced by the entities newly added to the Entity List. The entities were added because the FLETF concluded that the entities were either sourcing materials from the XUAR or they are working with the XUAR government to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz or members of other groups out of the XUAR that are considered to be persecuted by the U.S. government. The full list of newly added entities is available here.
This is the third big addition over the last year to the Entity List. On May 16, 2024, 26 China-based textile companies were added to the list, as discussed in this post. On November 24, 29 entities were added, as discussed in this post.
Looking ahead
The UFLPA is one of the rare recent pieces of U.S. legislation with overwhelming bi-partisan support. Sponsored in the Senate by Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, the UFLPA was unanimously approved in the Senate and had near unanimous support in the House of Representatives when adopted in late 2021. In the intervening three years, constituencies on both sides of the U.S. political aisle have taken an even stronger stance on China, often in part on human rights grounds. The focus has not been limited to Chinese entities. U.S.-based entities across a number of sectors also have been in the cross-hairs.
UFLPA enforcement by the incoming Trump Administration is expected to be significantly influenced by broader U.S. government policy towards China, including on trade. At this time, the tone suggests continuing vigorous enforcement of the UFLPA will be aligned with broader U.S. China policy. Our bold prediction: by the end of 2025 there may be as many as 300 entities on the Entity List. For additional predictions for 2025, see our recent post ESG in 2025 for Legal and Compliance Professionals: 25 Predictions for '25.
Other Recent Ropes & Gray UFLPA and forced labor compliance resources
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Releases Updated UFLPA Strategy
Is U.S. Forced Labor Enforcement at an Inflection Point?
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