Join us at ASI Show Fort Worth, March 29 – 31.   Register Now.

News January 15, 2025

Feds Ban Large China-Based Textile Manufacturer Over Forced Labor Concerns

The action against Huafu Fashion Co., 25 of its subsidiaries and other entities in sectors like energy and mining comes as U.S. authorities crack down on companies believed to have ties to coerced labor in Xinjiang.

By  Christopher Ruvo

Key Takeaways

• Outlawed: Federal authorities have banned 37 more China-based companies, including Huafu Fashion Co., for allegedly using forced labor from China’s Xinjiang region.

• Supply Chain Implications: The ban requires importers, including those in the promo industry, to ensure they are not importing products or materials from Huafu and other banned entities.

• A Growing List: This is the largest single expansion of the UFLPA Entity List, which totals 144 entities.

Federal authorities have banned any products or materials from 37 more China-based companies from entering the United States, with Huafu Fashion Co., Ltd., one of the world’s largest textile manufacturers, among those now outlawed.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) banned Huafu, 25 of its subsidiaries and other entities on the belief that the companies rely on forced labor from the Xinjiang region of China to help power their operations.

The move means that promotional products suppliers – and distributors that import directly – must ensure the prohibited companies are not part of their supply chains. DHS could deny entry to any imported shipment containing products or materials from the banned firms.

This new addition of 37 organizations to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List is the largest single expansion of the list to date. When a company is added to the list, it means DHS believes the business uses forced labor. As such, these companies’ products are prohibited from being imported into the United States, either on their own or as components of other products.

“With each addition to the UFLPA Entity List, we are building momentum and showing that our efforts are sustainable and enduring in eradicating forced labor in our nation’s supply chains,” said Acting Under Secretary for Policy Robert Paschall. “This largest-ever batch of additions reinforces that we are implementing the full force of this law.”

5,443
The number of shipments that border agents have denied entry into the United States under the UFLPA since enforcement began in June 2022. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

In all, there’s now 144 entities on the list. The UFLPA became law in December 2021.

The act creates a rebuttable presumption that goods mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part in Xinjiang or produced by entities identified on the UFLPA Entity List are prohibited from importation into the United States unless the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) determines that the goods were not produced with forced labor. Authorities believe that Beijing is pressing Uyghur people and other ethnic minorities primarily of the Islamic faith into coerced labor.

CBP began enforcing the UFLPA in June 2022. Since then, CBP has reviewed nearly 13,000 imported shipments valued at nearly $4 billion under the UFLPA. Of those, 5,443 shipments have been denied entry into the U.S., as of this writing.

Huafu’s banned textile-focused subsidiaries are:

  • Ningbo Huafu Donghao Industrial Co., Ltd.
  • Ninghai Huafu Textile Co., Ltd.
  • Zhejiang Weixin Trading Co., Ltd.
  • Aksu Huafu Color Spinning Co., Ltd. (also known as: Aksu Huafu Textiles Co., Ltd., Akesu Huafu, Aksu Huafu Dyed Melange Yarn, and Akesu Huafu Melange Yarn Co., Ltd.)
  • Aksu Biaoxin Fiber Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Aksu Shangheng Fiber Co., Ltd.)
  • Xinjiang Huafu Textile Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Huafu Hengfeng Cotton Industry Co., Ltd.
  • Kuche Zongheng Cotton Industry Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Huafu Hongfeng Agricultural Development Co., Ltd.
  • Shaya Yinhua Cotton Industry Co., Ltd.
  • Awati Huafu Textile Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Huafu Color Spinning Group Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Huafu Cotton Industry Group Co., Ltd.
  • Shihezi Standard Fiber Co., Ltd.
  • Shihezi Huafu Hongfeng Cotton Industry Co., Ltd.
  • Shihezi Huafu Hongsheng Cotton Industry Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Tianhong Xinba Cotton Industry Co., Ltd. (also known as Xinjiang Tianhong New Eight Cotton Industry Co., Ltd.)
  • Huyanghe Huafu Hongsheng Cotton Industry Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Liufu Textile Industrial Park Co., Ltd.
  • Kuitun Jinfu Textile Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Tianfu Cotton Supply Chain Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Cotton Industry Group Yuepu Lake Cotton Industry Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Cotton Industry Group Jiashi Cotton Industry Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Zefu Cotton Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Shengfu Cotton Industry Co., Ltd.

Other newly banned entities are:

  • Hongyuan Green Energy Co., Ltd.
  • Donghai JA Solar Technology Co., Ltd.
  • Jiangsu Meike Solar Technology Co., Ltd.
  • Baotou Meike Silicon Energy Co., Ltd.
  • Shuangliang Silicon Materials (Batou) Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Energy (Group) Co., Ltd. & Xinjiang Energy (Group) Real Estate Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Zijin Zinc Industry Co., Ltd. & Xinjiang Jinbao Mining Co., Ltd.
  • Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Zijin Zinc Industry Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Zijin Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd.
  • Xinjiang Habahe Ashele Copper Co., Ltd.