DHS Adding 2 Companies to UFLPA Entity List in First Update Since Release

DHS will add two companies, as well as eight subsidiaries of one of those companies, to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, according to a pre-publication notice released June 9.

Ninestar Corporation and its eight Zhuhai-based subsidiaries and Xinjiang Zhongtai Chemical Co. Ltd. are being added for working with the government of Xinjiang to “recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor or Uyghurs” and other persecuted groups.

DHS updated the UFLPA Entity List posted on its website with a new effective date column. The table says the new listings are effective June 12, which is when the notice is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register.

The new additions are the first since DHS first released the UFLPA Entity List as the new law took effect in June 2022. Some in the trade community have criticized the slow pace, saying the lack of listed entities makes it hard for importers to avoid bad actors (see 2305160094).

An ex-CBP official that led CBP’s early UFLPA efforts has said the list is not intended to be exhaustive, and will likely be updated annually (see 2302170047). It has been about a year since the list’s release.

Under UFLPA, CBP applies a rebuttable presumption that goods mined, produced or manufactured by entities on the UFLPA Entity List are made with forced labor and prohibited from importation. The list is maintained by the interagency Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, and listed companies may go to the task force to request removal.

Xinjiang Zhongtai Chemical was recently cited in a Kharon report for producing Lye using forced labor and selling to fabric, electronics and cleaning products producers for use as an input (see 2305050059). Operations in Xinjiang are already subject to UFLPA’s rebuttable presumption.

Ninestar makes printers, ink and toner and integrated circuits. Its eight subsidiaries also added to the list are Zhuhai Ninestar Information Technology Co. Ltd., Zhuhai Pantum Electronics Co. Ltd., Zhuhai Apex Microelectronics Co., Ltd., Geehy Semiconductor Co., Ltd., Zhuhai Pu-Tech Industrial Co., Ltd., Zhuhai G&G Digital Technology Co., Ltd., Zhuhai Seine Printing Technology Co., Ltd., and Zhuhai Ninestar Management Co., Ltd.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who led the push to get UFLPA passed in the Senate, responded to the news saying: "While today’s announcement by DHS to punish more bad actors is welcomed, it is just a drop in the bucket and must go further. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act requires the U.S. government to block all imports from Xinjiang, as well as from programs that transfer Uyghurs elsewhere in China, unless the companies involved can prove their supply chains are free of slave labor. That is clearly not happening. Instead, the Biden Administration’s current case-by-case approach is giving a free pass to many companies still profiting from slave labor."

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., co-chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and original co-sponsors of UFLPA, said the additions were a step in the right direction.

"But an expanded ‘Entity List’ is only one part of UFLPA enforcement and forced labor goods made with ties to the XUAR -- car parts, solar panels, rayon, and garments from fashion companies such as TEMU and SHEIN -- continue to enter the U.S. market, so we will continue to work with the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection toward the goal of stopping imports of forced labor made goods,” they said.