House Committee Seeks Briefing on Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Implementation

The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for a briefing regarding the agency’s rollout of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). This law, enacted to prevent the influx of goods from China produced with forced labor, was highlighted in a letter shared with Fox News Digital.

The UFLPA, which was passed in 2021, mandates the DHS’s Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to devise a strategy to address imports that are “manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor in the People’s Republic of China.”

Human rights organizations have increasingly focused attention on the abuse and forced labor faced by Uyghurs, a Muslim ethnic minority residing in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), situated in the country’s remote west.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who serves as the ranking member on the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition with the CCP, expressed his concerns during an interview with Fox News Digital. He emphasized that Uyghurs are subjected to political persecution in Xinjiang, highlighting that they are pressured to abandon their religion and forced to conform to Chinese cultural norms. Khanna also pointed out that many are compelled to perform labor under harsh conditions, often for little or no compensation.

Khanna stated that enforcing the UFLPA extends beyond moral grounds; it also carries implications for economic and national security in the U.S. He underscored that this issue affects American competitiveness, noting that Chinese industries are producing steel, aluminum, and textiles and flooding the U.S. market, which drastically undercuts domestic manufacturers relying on fair labor practices. “How could U.S. Steel or Cleveland Cliffs compete with slave labor?” he queried, pointing out the unfair advantage that forced labor creates for foreign manufacturers.

The bipartisan letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin raises ten issues for DHS to address, such as what measures DHS and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are taking to update the UFLPA Entity List, which identifies companies engaged in forced labor practices.

In July, DHS added 43 companies to this Entity List, a move that Khanna praised. He speculated that the action may have been influenced by their committee’s letter, noting that, prior to this, there had been limited action for a year. While he acknowledged progress with the addition of these companies to the list, he stressed the need for further actions following the committee’s outreach.

The committee’s correspondence also raises alarms about products from XUAR that still reach U.S. consumers, covering sectors from steel and aluminum to critical technology materials. Khanna also mentioned an alarming report which indicates that cotton used in certain popular toys may be sourced from forced labor.

Khanna remarked on the textiles coming from the region, emphasizing that they are linked to forced Uyghur labor. He discussed how China has cleverly avoided import bans by outsourcing manufacturing to countries like Malaysia or Vietnam, yet the human rights violations remain the core issue. “We need to trace these products back to their origin,” he added. If any product originates from forced Uyghur labor, it should be barred from entering the U.S.

Ultimately, Khanna believes that tackling forced labor in China is a bipartisan issue. This sentiment is reflected in the letter, which secured support from eight lawmakers, including four from each major party.

He concluded with a reminder that the discussions are fundamentally about fair trade and human rights. Many Americans support trade as long as it’s fair. They want to compete on equal footing without the disadvantage of slave labor practices undermining U.S. businesses.

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS, CBP, the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., and Pop Mart, the brand behind the aforementioned toy, for further insights.