An additional 37 China-based companies have been added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List. Effective January 15th, goods from these companies will be prohibited from entering the US under a rebuttable presumption that their goods violate UFLPA. This addition represents the largest single expansion of the list since its inception.
Several of the new additions are aligned with the production of solar cells or components thereof. Polysilicon, a primary component of solar cells, was one of the original products linked to forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), and many of the 144 companies on the Entity List are aligned with this product. Another early target, cotton farming, production, and finishing, is responsible for Huafu Fashion Co., Ltd and 25 of its subsidiaries being added to the list this week. The companies have been found to source cotton or cotton-based products from the XUAR. A number of mining companies and their subsidiaries were included in the announcement as well.
UFLPA, enacted in December of 2021, places a rebuttable presumption of forced labor for goods from the XUAR or goods from companies on the Entity List. Shipments of products found to be covered by the Act are detained upon importation and may be seized. Importers are given an opportunity to present “clear and convincing evidence” that their goods are free from inputs produced by forced labor. UFLPA affects not only products imported from the XUAR but also any downstream products from any location containing inputs from there. Detentions, even for goods ultimately released, are expensive and create delays, so importers should be familiar with their supply chain to avoid being caught up in a UFLPA net.
A list of the companies added to the UFLPA Entity list can be found here. The Department of Homeland Security also keeps a running list of all companies on the Entity on their website, which can be accessed here.
Best Regards,
Sam McClure, LCB
Director of Compliance & Customs Services