Following the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (“Chinese Select Committee”) request in January calling for a strengthened enforcement of the UFLPA, DHS adds 26 new entities to the UFLPA entity list.

The United States Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced today the addition of 26 Chinese firms to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”) Entity List for allegedly sourcing cotton from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (“XUAR”). Among the parties added to the Entity List are several warehousing and logistics providers.

While public pressure coupled with demands from Congress calls for stricter enforcement and expansion of scope for the UFLPA, the addition of new entities demonstrates that cotton remains an area of high priority despite recent enforcement actions targeting other industries.

These new Entity List additions are notable inasmuch as they largely comprise firms involved in the storage and trade of cotton products from the XUAR, sending a clear signal that DHS is taking more serious enforcement against firms attempting to circumvent U.S. forced labor regulations and those parties facilitating the evasion of forced labor laws.

Crowell & Moring, LLP continues to monitor developments in the forced labor prevention space and their potential impact on customers and businesses going forward.