Uyghur Act Enforcement Lax, House Committee Told

The Administration is being slow in carrying out enforcement activities to prevent goods made with forced labor from entering the US market, Congressional lawmakers and witnesses at a House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing.

Customs and Border Protection needs to take a more proactive approach to enforcing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, Homeland Security oversight, accountability and enforcement subcommittee Chairman Dan Bishop (R-NC) commented.

There have been far too few enforcement actions, given the extent of the problem, he said. CBP also is being slow to add companies using inputs made with forced labor from China’s Uyghur region to the entity list created under UFLPA.

China also is taking advantage of the de minimis loophole that allows packages valued at under $800 to enter the United States without inspection to get goods made with forced labor into the
US market, Rep. Bishop said.

Coalition for a Prosperous America’s CEO, Michael Stumo emphasized the harm caused by the de minimis loophole in his testimony to the panel. “The de minimis loophole makes a mockery of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act,” he said. “China’s Shein and Temu have built their enormous businesses around de minimis. Their fast fashion goods are rife with forced labor cotton and other materials but not inspected. The sheer volume of Shein and Temu goods are forcing US stores and textile companies to close or lay off employees, right now.”

Some 72 percent of all Chinese cotton products contain cotton from the Xinjiang Uyghur region, National Council of Textile Organizations President and CEO Kim Glas told the subcommittee. “Chinese cotton products made with forced labor in Xinjiang, in the most abhorrent conditions, are flooding the global marketplace, making their way both directly and indirectly to the US,” she said. “As a result, American textile plants have been forced to idle equipment and lay off workers, while some companies have been put out of business entirely.”