Uyghur Act Not Enforced Lawmakers Say

The leaders of the House Select Committee on China are questioning whether the US government is effectively enforcing a law aimed at keeping out of the US market products made in China by forced labor.

Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc) and ranking Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill) have sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, calling for immediate action to strengthen enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

The lawmakers pointed to recent reports revealing that companies across the People’s Republic of China profiting from Uyghur forced labor have not yet been added to the UFLPA Entity List; that there has been a failure to fully prosecute or otherwise deter transshipment of forced labor goods through third countries and that PRC companies are increasingly using the de minimis provision to ship forced-labor goods into the United States.

Recommendations

In the letter, the lawmakers urge DHS to take the following steps:

• Aggressively step up enforcement of potential UFLPA violations by goods shipped from the PRC and indirectly through third countries. These measures should include adding companies outside the PRC that profit from the use of Uyghur forced labor to the UFLPA Entity List, exponentially increasing testing of goods at ports of entry for UFLPA violations and better publicizing Customs and Border Protection’s enforcement activities to deter would-be violators.
• Enhance collaboration between DHS and other federal agencies, such as the Department of Justice, to better prosecute and assess penalties against UFLPA violators.
• Appoint a top-level political official at DHS with the mandate to lead and coordinate its UFLPA enforcement efforts.
• Assess the potential effect on UFLPA enforcement of altering de minimis eligibility for textile and apparel and other high-risk items, including determining whether exceptions to de minimis treatment are warranted for certain high-risk items to prevent unlawful importations.

The lawmakers want a written response from DHS by March 1.

Click HERE to view the letter.