The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) added three China-based entities across the seafood, aluminum, and footwear industries to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List.

Effective Wednesday, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will apply a “rebuttable presumption that goods produced by these entities will be prohibited from entering the United States,” the DHS said in a press release Tuesday.

Entities added were Dongguan Oasis Shoes, Shandong Meijia Group, and Xinjiang Shenhuo Coal and Electricity.

The addition of seafood company Shandong Meijia Group signals a new trend in supply chain risk for seafood purveyors, with the Southern Shrimp Alliance calling the move a “groundbreaking” action.

The DHS noted that by identifying entities found to utilize and/or facilitate forced labor from China’s Xinjiang region, the Entity List provides companies with more information about potential forced labor in their supply chains.

In December 2021, the UFLPA was signed into law to restrict goods produced with forced labor from Xinjiang. Since its inception, the list has grown to 68 entities, with a 240 percent spike in the last year. This is largely attributed to a textile industry sweep last month that nearly doubled the list.

A Senate report last month cited automakers Volkswagen, BMW, and Jaguar Land Rover for selling cars in the United States with parts sourced with aluminum from Xinjiang.

In November, President Joe Biden signed a memorandum to support workers’ empowerment, rights, and high labor standards globally, with the DHS’s work to implement the UFLPA a part of that effort.

Jeff Dale is Managing Editor, Editorial Projects and Analytics, at Compliance Week. He previously served as Compliance Week's Digital Editor and has worked as a copy editor at the Boston Herald and city editor at The Hour Publishing Co. in Norwalk, Conn.View full Profile

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