On November 22, 2024, the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) announced the addition of 29 companies based in China to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List. Effective November 25, 2024, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is applying a rebuttable presumption that goods produced by the named 29 entities are made with forced labor and therefore prohibited from entering the U.S. With these additions, the UFLPA Entity List now covers 107 companies.

The chart below lists the new entities and the U.S. government's reason for the listing. It also includes two minor updates to prior entity listings.

Key Takeaways

• Twenty-three of the 29 new entities are engaged in the production and sale of agricultural products. Those entities are accused of sourcing products from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China and selling them on online wholesale sites. The products at issue include tomato paste and tomato products, walnuts, red dates, and raisins. The BBC recently reported on how tomatoes from Xinjiang are transported into Europe and processed into tomato paste sold in supermarkets in the U.K.
• The other entities are engaged in the mining, smelting, and processing of metals. The affected metals include including gold, copper, lithium, beryllium, nickel, manganese, chromium, iron, and aluminum. Notably, three of the named entities mine and process gold (i.e., Western Gold Co., Ltd., Western Gold Hami Gold Mine Co., Ltd., and Western Gold Karamay Hatu Gold Mine Co., Ltd.). Companies sourcing gold or gold-related products from China should conduct additional due diligence to assess potential UFLPA risks.
• Most of the new entities are located outside of the XUAR (i.e., 24 out of 29). For companies sourcing from China, this highlights the importance of conducting due diligence beyond tier-1 suppliers, as UFLPA risk may exist upstream even if companies do not directly source from entities in XUAR. 
• Additions indicate continuity in enforcement against entities flagged in Sheffield Hallam University reports. Three new entities were previously flagged by Sheffield Hallam University for forced labor risks: Tianjin Tianwei Food Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Tianjin Sanhe Fruit and Vegetable Co., Ltd.) was flagged in a July 2022 report; Xinjiang Nonferrous Metals Industry Group Co., Ltd. was flagged in a December 2022 report on automotive supply chains; and Xinjiang Zhonghe Co., Ltd, (also known as Xinjiang Joinworld Co., Ltd.) was flagged in a May 2021 report on solar supply chains. 
• Congressional pressure continues to drive expansion of UFLPA enforcement. In two letters dated June 5, 2024, several U.S. congressmembers urged the FLETF to add two major Chinese electric vehicle battery companies, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL), and Gotion High-tech Co., Ltd. (Gotion), to the UFLPA Entity List due to their connections to Xinjiang entities. The letters allege that CATL and Gotion source raw materials from Xinjiang Nonferrous and Xinjiang Joinworld. Instead of adding the two battery producers to the Entity List, the FLETF chose to target the two alleged upstream suppliers. Given how responsive the FLETF is to congressional requests, companies should continue to closely monitor activities from major congressional committees, such as the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

The October 2024 UFLPA enforcement statistics from the CBP dashboard show a slight uptick in the number of detained shipments compared to September (i.e., from 388 to 473). Notably, for the first time since the UFLPA went into effect, the automotive and aerospace sector has the highest number of detentions. We expect that President-elect Trump's administration will continue to prioritize UFLPA enforcement. 

In addition to the 29 new entities, the FLETF added a previously listed entity to an additional UFLPA Entity List sub-list. The FLETF also modified the name of another previously listed entity. 

Miller & Chevalier has deep experience in both proactive UFLPA compliance strategies to mitigate the risk of detentions and interfacing with CBP to secure the release of detained goods. Our team is led by a former CBP attorney and includes attorneys with extensive knowledge of U.S. anti-forced labor laws and priority sectors, and Mandarin language skills. 

For more information, please contact:

Richard A. Mojica, rmojica@milchev.com, 202-626-1571

Nate Lankford, nlankford@milchev.com, 202-626-5978

Daniel A. Solomon, dsolomon@milchev.com, 202-626-5982

Flora J. Pierce, fpierce@milchev.com, 202-626-6058

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