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22:50 GMT
WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (KUNA) -- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Friday it is restricting goods from more than 100 companies based in the People's Republic of China from entering the United States due to forced labor practices.
On behalf of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), the DHS added 29 companies -- to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, bringing the total number of entities on the UFLPA Entity List to 107, according to a press release from the Dept.
The FLETF, chaired by DHS, is taking these steps as part of its commitment to eliminating the use of forced labor practices in US supply chains and promoting accountability for the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
"Forced labor is a violation of basic human rights," said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas.
"The Department of Homeland Security has aggressively enforced the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, preventing goods made through forced labor from entering our country, investigating and exposing more than 100 bad actors, and helping American businesses avoid inadvertently profiting from this modern form of slavery.
"Alongside our government, industry, and civil society partners, the United States is making progress towards the eradication of forced labor while supporting economic fairness, safeguarding human rights, and holding perpetrators accountable," Mayorkas noted.
"Today's enforcement actions make it clear -- the United States will not tolerate forced labor in the goods entering our markets," said the Under Secretary for Policy, Robert Silvers, who serves as Chair of the Federal Labor Enforcement Task Force.
"The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is a powerful tool in the fight against forced labor, and we are using it to its full potential. We urge companies to take responsibility, know their supply chains, and act ethically," he noted.
The UFLPA has been a key instrument for the Biden-Harris administration's fight against forced labor, particularly in the XUAR, and in safeguarding US supply chains.
Through the Department's initiatives, the administration has prioritized ethical sourcing and production, reinforcing global workers' rights and empowering consumers to make informed, values-based choices.
This work underscores a commitment to building a fairer and more responsible global trade system, according to the statement.
Effective November 25, 2024, US Customs and Border Protection will apply a rebuttable presumption that goods produced by the named 29 entities will be prohibited from entering the United States as a result of the companies' activities, either sourcing materials from the XUAR or working with the government of Xinjiang to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, orreceive Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of the XUAR.
The UFLPA, signed into law by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. in December 2021, mandates that CBP apply a rebuttable presumption that goods that are either mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part in the XUAR, or produced by entities identified on the UFLPA Entity List, are prohibited from importation into the United States, unless the Commissioner of CBP determines, by clear and convincing evidence, that the goods were not produced with forced labor.
CBP began enforcing the UFLPA in June 2022.
Since then, CBP has reviewed more than 10,000 shipments valued at more than USD 3.6 billion under the UFLPA.
This expansion of the UFLPA Entity List reflects DHS' prioritization of combatting the introduction of forced labor into US supply chains, the statement added. (end)
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