On August 18, the US Department of Labor announced the addition of five sectors to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
The law was created on December 23, 2021, and became effective on June 21, 2022. The purpose of the act was to strengthen the existing prohibition against the importation of goods made wholly or in part with forced labor into the United States and to end the systematic use of forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The initial sectors were:
- Apparel
- Cotton and cotton products
- Silica-based products (including polysilicon)
- Tomatoes and downstream products
In 2024, the following were added:
- Aluminum
- Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
- Seafood
The updated 2025 UFLPA enforcement strategy added the following sectors:
- Steel
- Lithium
- Copper
- Caustic soda
- Jujubes (red dates)
The report notes that China is the world’s leading producer of caustic soda and jujubes, which appear on the department’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor. In total, that list includes 31 goods from China – more than any other nation – with 21 tied to forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The agency notes that the new strategy enhances support for DHS Customs and Border Protection in detecting and blocking such imports, and updates the UFLPA Entity List, which identifies foreign enterprises barred from importing goods made with forced labor. There are currently 144 entities on the list.
“America First means keeping foreign goods made with forced labor off our shelves and ensuring American businesses aren’t put at a disadvantage,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, in a statement. “This joint strategy equips our enforcement agencies with the tools they need to crack down on China and other bad actors whose trade abuses distort markets and hurt American workers.”
