NAM Regulatory Update: U.S. Bans More Chinese Companies on Forced Labor Concerns

As part of an effort to bring more information about the regulatory and legal environment facing American manufacturers, NFPA is monitoring the newsfeed of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and will be bringing important updates like this to the attention of NFPA members.

(August 15, 2024) The U.S. last week banned imports from five more Chinese companies over allegations of human rights abuses involving the Uyghurs, China’s largest ethnic minority group.

What’s going on: According to a story in Reuters: “The companies include Hong Kong–based Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group Holdings and its parent, Century Sunshine Group Holdings, which manufacture magnesium fertilizer and magnesium alloy products. Also included is Zijin Mining Group Co. subsidiary Xinjiang Habahe Ashele Copper Co., which mines nonferrous metals.”

The U.S. list of banned Chinese firms now has more than 70 names, comprising companies making “cotton apparel, automotive parts, vinyl flooring and solar panels.”

What it does: The list identifies entities that work with the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region government to recruit and move Uyghurs, Kyrgyz, Kazakhs “or members of other persecuted groups out of the region, and those who source material from the region or from people who work with the government of Xinjiang.”

The background: Chinese authorities run forced labor camps for Muslim minority communities, such as the Uyghurs, in the Xinjiang region.