US adds 43 Chinese companies to forced labor import blacklist

The United States on Friday added 43 Chinese companies to its import blacklist over allegations they are linked to forced labor involving Uyghurs and other minority groups.

The additions, announced under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), mark the first expansion of the entity list under President Donald Trump's administration and the largest single addition since the law took effect in December 2021.

Among the newly listed companies is Hunan Aihua Group, one of China's leading capacitor manufacturers.

"Today, the United States added 43 companies based in China to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, a key tool in preventing the importation into the United States of goods made with forced labor and leveling the playing field for American companies," State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

"The UFLPA, enacted in 2021, aims to prevent goods tainted by forced labor of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China from entering the U.S. market, holding accountable entities involved in such practices," he added.

The newly listed companies operate across a range of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, metals, cotton, food processing and lithium production.

The latest action increases the number of entities on the UFLPA list from 144 to 187. Companies on the list are suspected of mining, producing or manufacturing goods using forced labor.

The US has long accused China of operating detention camps for Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in the Xinjiang region. Beijing has repeatedly denied the allegations and rejected claims that human rights abuses have taken place there.