On Tuesday, June 11th, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a notice online stating that the U.S. has added three more companies to its entity list, banning the importation of products from these companies suspected of using forced Uyghur labor.
According to the notice released by DHS, the Department announced the inclusion of three seafood, aluminum, and footwear companies in China on the “Preventing Forced Labor Act” (UFLPA) entity list.
The newly targeted companies include Dongguan Oasis Shoes Co., Ltd, Xinjiang Shenhuo Coal and Electricity Co., Ltd., and Shandong Meijia Group Co., Ltd. (Rizhao Meijia Group).
“Starting from June 12, 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will adopt a rebuttable presumption that products produced by these entities will be prohibited from entering the U.S.”
“Through these actions, the Department of Homeland Security is increasing scrutiny on industries such as seafood, aluminum, and footwear that play a crucial role in the economy of Xinjiang, and ensuring that products made through forced labor do not enter the U.S. market,” said DHS.
The Department of Homeland Security stated that including the three entities identified today, FLETF (whose member agencies include the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, the Department of State, and the Department of the Treasury) has added 68 entities to the UFLPA entity list since the law was signed in December 2021. The entity list has grown by 240% in the past 12 months alone. These entities cover various sectors, including agriculture, apparel, batteries, chemicals, electronics, food additives, household appliances, non-ferrous metals, polysilicon, and plastics. Identifying these entities also increases transparency of forced labor in the supply chain.
In 2020, the U.S. State Department classified China’s repression of Uyghurs as genocide. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination stated on August 10, 2018, that the Chinese government has imprisoned one million Uyghurs in “large-scale secret internment camps.”
The Department of Homeland Security states that based on specific and clarifiable information, FLETF has reasonable grounds to believe that these three entities are collaborating with the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region government to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, or receive members of Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, or other persecuted groups for forced labor.
Shandong Meijia Group Co., Ltd. engages in processing, selling, and exporting frozen seafood products, vegetables, frozen convenience foods, and other aquatic products. Information reviewed by FLETF (including publicly available information) indicates that the company is involved in a labor transfer program funded by the Xinjiang government, transferring persecuted group members including Uyghurs out of Xinjiang to work in factories in Shandong.
“The shrimp supply chain has a disturbing pattern of profiting from the world’s most vulnerable populations. Argentinian red shrimp packaged by Uyghurs in Chinese seafood processing plants should not be competing with health products on American grocery store shelves,” said John Williams, Executive Director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, in the DHS notice. “The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force’s actions against forced labor in the seafood supply chain sends a strong message to American seafood importers that prioritizing lower costs and higher profits cannot replace moral and legal obligations.”
Dongguan Oasis Shoes Co., Ltd. is a Guangdong-based entity that produces and manufactures footwear and footwear materials. Information reviewed by FLETF (including publicly available information) indicates that the company is cooperating with the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps to recruit, transfer, and receive persecuted group members, including Uyghurs, to work in factories in Guangdong.
Xinjiang Shenhuo Coal and Electricity Co., Ltd. produces electrolytic aluminum, graphite carbon, and prebaked anodes. Information reviewed by FLETF (including publicly available information) indicates that the company participates in a labor transfer program funded by the Xinjiang government and collaborates with the Xinjiang government and its agencies to recruit, transfer, and receive persecuted group members, including Uyghurs.