The Department of Homeland Security announced the addition of 43 companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, marking what officials described as the largest single expansion of the list since the law took effect.
DHS, acting on behalf of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, said the additions will bring the total number of listed entities to 187, a 30% increase. The department also announced technical updates to the official names of two entities already on the list, according to a July 31 announcement.
Beginning August 3, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will apply a rebuttable presumption that goods produced by the 43 companies are barred from entering the United States. DHS said the entities either source materials from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or work with the Xinjiang government to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, or receive Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of the region.
The newly listed companies operate in sectors identified as high priority for enforcement, including aluminum, apparel, copper, cotton, and tomatoes and downstream products, according to DHS.
Officials Say Expansion Protects American Workers
“Today we are adding 43 Chinese companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, and DHS will ensure their products do not enter our country,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “The American worker must not be undercut and cheated by foreign companies that use slave labor. Our job is to defend the Homeland, and that includes protecting our citizens from unfair competition that not only disadvantages Americans, but harms human dignity.”
DHS said CBP has denied entry to more than 24,300 shipments valued at nearly $1 billion since the UFLPA was enacted in December 2021.
DHS Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans Rob Law, who chairs the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, said the expansion supports both economic and national security goals.
“The Trump Administration remains steadfast in its commitment to remove forced labor from U.S. supply chains and to holding foreign companies accountable for their exploitation,” Law said. “We are uncompromising in the continued prevention of unfair practices that undermine American businesses – expansion of the UFLPA Entity List is a tool by which DHS can ensure both our economic and national security.”
DHS Warns Importers Of Enforcement
DHS also pointed to the DHS-DOJ Trade Fraud Task Force, which the department said recently marked more than $1 billion in penalties, recoveries, and charged losses, with forced labor enforcement identified as a priority trade fraud category.
“The DHS-DOJ Trade Fraud Task Force brings a new energy to our enforcement against illicit imports and our broader efforts to end the human suffering caused by forced labor,” said DHS Assistant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security Aris Kourkoumelis. “Importers should know that those who attempt to circumvent today’s action and knowingly import goods produced with forced labor will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
DHS said the revised UFLPA Entity List will be published as an appendix to a Federal Register notice on August 3, 2026.
Provided by Dallas Express
