Washington, D.C. — House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) called on the Department of Homeland Security to strengthen Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) enforcement in a letter dated Jan. 17.
Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul said:
“The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed with nearly unanimous bipartisan support and promised to put a stop to imports made by victims of the Chinese Communist Party’s genocide against a vulnerable ethnic population. The premise was straightforward: No American consumer should unwittingly aid these atrocities, and no American business should be made to compete with forced labor overseas.
“While it’s notable that more than 2,500 import shipments have been denied by U.S. Customs and Border Protection since the UFLPA went into force, implementation of the law has not been adequate, as Chairman Gallagher and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi detail in their letter to Secretary Mayorkas.”
“Importers are actively seeking loopholes in enforcement of the law, and they unfortunately are succeeding. The Alliance for American Manufacturing supports the Select Committee’s efforts to hold CBP accountable and push for stronger enforcement. We believe the ‘rebuttal presumption’ standard is too weak, and that efforts to stem circumvention of the law through transshipments and other tactics are falling short.
“Chairman Gallagher and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi rightly point out the near impossibility of monitoring shipments by companies such as SHEIN and Temu arriving in the United States via the de minimis provision. It’s important for Congress and the administration to act swiftly to close that loophole enabling an import surge, and passage of the bipartisan Import Security and Fairness Act would be a good first step.
“We strongly support the efforts of the Select Committee to seek answers from CBP and make the UFLPA a more effective policy to combat forced labor and defend American workers, consumers and businesses.”
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