The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently announced new enforcement actions Aug. 1, targeting forced labor practices in the U.S. supply chain and holding accountable Chinese companies involved in human rights abuses against Uyghurs. Camel Group Company Ltd. and Chenguang Biotech Group Company Ltd., based in China, have been restricted from importing goods into the United States as a result of their involvement in targeting persecuted groups, including Uyghur minorities, according to a news release.
"Today’s enforcement actions demonstrate the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to holding organizations accountable for their egregious human rights abuses and forced labor practices," Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in the release. "We will continue to work with all of our partners to keep goods made with forced labor from Xinjiang out of U.S. commerce while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade."
In order to end the use of forced labor in the American supply chain and to promote accountability for the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity committed against Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, DHS announced the new enforcement actions, the release reported.
Camel Group and Chenguang Biotech Group have been added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List by the interagency Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, which is presided over by DHS, the release said. Due to their involvement in business practices that target members of persecuted groups, the companies will be prohibited from exporting goods to the U.S. as of Aug. 2.
Among the biggest producers of lead-acid batteries in China is Camel Group, which has its headquarters in Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, PRC, the release reported.
Chenguang Biotech Group is headquartered in Handan, Hebei province, and a subsidiary called Chenguang Biotechnology Group Yanqi Company Ltd. is situated in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. According to the release, they manufacture plant-based extracts, food additives, natural dyes, pigments and supplements from agricultural products.
The updated UFLPA Entity List will be made available as an appendix to a Federal Register notice by DHS. With this news, there are now 24 businesses on the UFLPA Entity List that have been classified as entities, the release said.
The UFLPA, which President Joe Biden signed into law in December 2021, forbids the importation of goods made in Xinjiang or by companies listed on the UFLPA Entity List into the U.S. unless the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) finds, through clear and convincing evidence, the products were not made using forced labor. In June 2022, CBP started enforcing the UFLPA, the release reported.
Since then, the UFLPA has been used by CBP to analyze more than 4,600 shipments totaling more than $1.64 billion, according to the release.
The UFLPA Entity List will continue to be taken into consideration by the FLETF, which also consists of the U.S. Departments of Labor, State, Treasury, Justice and Commerce. The 2023 Updates to the Strategy to Prevent the Importation of Goods Mined, Produced or Manufactured with Forced Labor in the People's Republic of China are also being made public by DHS as mandated by Congress, the release said.
The Department's efforts to alter importers' behavior and hold those responsible for egregious forced labor abuses accountable are being led by the DHS Office of Strategy, Policy and Plans, CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the release.