January 16, 2025 | Policy Brief

‘The Cruelty of Forced Labor’: U.S. Bans Imports from 37 Chinese Firms Implicated in Uyghur Genocide 

January 16, 2025 | Policy Brief

‘The Cruelty of Forced Labor’: U.S. Bans Imports from 37 Chinese Firms Implicated in Uyghur Genocide 

The United States has extended its efforts to punish Chinese firms suspected of using forced labor from the country’s northwestern Xinjiang region, where the predominantly Muslim Uyghur minority is facing a state-sponsored genocide. On January 14, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it had added 37 Chinese firms to a list of companies banned from exporting to the United States under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that the additions “demonstrate our relentless fight against the cruelty of forced labor, our unwavering commitment to basic human rights, and our tireless defense of a free, fair, and competitive market.”  

The recent update marks the largest single expansion of the list since UFLPA took effect in 2022, highlighting Washington’s ongoing willingness to penalize Beijing for its flagrant human rights abuses.  

Beijing’s Use of Forced Labor 

Forced labor practices continue to be a central element of Beijing’s genocidal program in Xinjiang. Such practices include forcibly transferring Uyghurs to work in other parts of the country at state-designated industrial parks and mandating that they seek state-approved employment opportunities. These positions are typically labor-intensive and often fall in sectors aligning with Beijing’s industrial policy, including manufacturing electric vehicles, solar panels, and agricultural products for export.   

Indeed, several of the firms listed are at the forefront of ongoing tensions between Washington and Beijing over issues such as access to critical minerals and unfair trade practices. Following China’s recent decision to curtail several critical mineral exports to the United States, the updated list restricts imports from Zijin Mining Group, an exploratory firm specializing in lithium, zinc, and cobalt deposits.  

According to the DHS-maintained list of firms sanctioned under UFLPA, Zijin is among those “that source material from Xinjiang or from persons working with the government of Xinjiang or the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps”, much of which is produced using forced labor. 

The updated list also targets Chinese firms accused of undercutting U.S. commerce, particularly the country’s clean energy sector. The announced regulations expand restrictions on China’s solar industry, including Donghai, a subsidiary of JA Solar Technology Co., which, like Zijin, is also violating UFLPA by cooperating with state-run forced labor schemes. The firm had previously been cited by the Department of Commerce during a 2022 trade investigation into China’s solar sector for receiving government subsidies, allowing it to illegally undermine its U.S. competitors.  

Announcement Spotlights China’s Ongoing Genocide of the Uyghurs  

The announcement also brings renewed attention to China’s ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs, which emerged from the state’s increasingly repressive policies in Xinjiang over the last decade. These policies, which the United States formally recognized as constituting acts of genocide in 2021, include mass internment in “reeducation” camps, forced sterilization, intrusive surveillance, the destruction of cultural sites, and other measures intended to systemically erase the Uyghurs’ independent identity.  

U.S. Should Coordinate With Allies and Partners to Ensure Ethical Supply Chains  

The updated list provides an opening for the incoming Trump administration and Congress to pressure U.S. allies and partners to adopt stronger laws against importing goods produced using forced labor and encourage them to recommit to formally labeling China’s actions in Xinjiang as amounting to acts of genocide. 

During the upcoming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Washington should also support the further development and implementation of Canada’s newly enacted forced labor law while continuing to work with Mexico to ensure that Chinese goods produced using forced labor are blocked from the North American market.  

Jack Burnham is a research analyst in the China Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Jack and FDD, please subscribeHERE. Follow Jack on X@JackBurnham802. Follow FDD on X@FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.  

Issues:

Issues:

China

Topics:

Topics:

Washington China Donald Trump Muslims Beijing Canada Uyghurs U.S. Department of Homeland Security Xinjiang Mexico North America United States Department of Commerce Jack Burnham