Kristi Noem, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security | Wikipedia
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on March 1 that it has added a supplier in the supply chain of Ford’s battery technology partner, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List.
The department said the action targets companies with documented ties to forced labor and aims to prevent goods produced under such conditions from entering the United States.
The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force added Xinjiang Nonferrous to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List effective Nov. 25, 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Congressional investigators said the state-owned company supplies electrolytic nickel to CATL and has documented ties to forced labor involving Uyghur populations in western China.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party said CATL and Gotion source materials from entities linked to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a sanctioned paramilitary organization, and shared that evidence in letters to the Department of Homeland Security.
Michigan state Rep. Sarah Lightner, R-Springport, is calling for the state to reclaim taxpayer subsidies tied to Ford’s BlueOval Battery Park project after the U.S. Department of Defense designated CATL as a Chinese military company. Lightner introduced a $725.3 million proposal to return funds from the state’s SOAR reserve to the general fund according to her office.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act was signed into law on December 23, 2021. It establishes a rebuttable presumption that goods produced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China are made with forced labor and prohibits their importation under Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The UFLPA Entity List contained 107 entities as of November 2024, according to federal records.
