Trump Administration Expands Enforcement of Forced Labor Law, Targeting New Chinese Industry Sectors

Key Takeaways

• New Sectors Targeted: Steel, copper, lithium, caustic soda, and red dates have been added as high-priority sectors under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).
• Trade Impact: As of August 1, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained more than 16,700 shipments worth nearly $3.7 billion; over 10,000 shipments valued at $900 million were denied entry.
• Enforcement Backbone: The UFLPA Entity List now includes 144 organizations identified as using or facilitating Uyghur forced labor.
• Administration’s Stance: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration sees forced labor as both a moral issue and a national security threat.
• Strategic Focus: Targeting industries such as steel and lithium underscores U.S. efforts to protect critical supply chains from goods linked to forced labor.

Deep Dive

The Trump administration has moved to tighten enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), designating five additional Chinese industry sectors as high-priority targets. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on August 19, 2025, that steel, copper, lithium, caustic soda, and red dates are now subject to heightened scrutiny under the law, which blocks the importation of goods linked to forced labor in China.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem framed the move as both a moral stand and a national security necessity.

“America has a moral, economic, and national security duty to eradicate threats that endanger our nation’s prosperity, including unfair trade practices that disadvantage the American people and stifle our economic growth,” Noem said in a statement. “The use of slave labor is repulsive and we will hold Chinese companies accountable for abuses and eliminate threats its forced labor practices pose to our prosperity.”

DHS chairs the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), which oversees UFLPA implementation and updates the law’s enforcement strategy annually. The latest strategy not only expands the scope of targeted industries but also emphasizes improvements in U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement.

According to DHS, as of August 1, 2025, CBP had detained more than 16,700 shipments worth nearly $3.7 billion under the UFLPA for further examination. Of these, over 10,000 shipments valued at almost $900 million were denied entry into U.S. markets. The enforcement action is backed by the UFLPA Entity List, which currently names 144 organizations identified as using or facilitating forced labor of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities from China’s Xinjiang region.

The administration says the effort underscores its determination to confront what it views as both a human rights violation and a threat to U.S. competitiveness.

“The Trump Administration will continue to hold companies who use or facilitate modern slavery accountable for their human rights violations by prohibiting their goods from access to our markets,” the DHS release stated.

The addition of strategic sectors such as steel, copper, and lithium (key to infrastructure, defense, and energy supply chains) reflects Washington’s ongoing push to insulate critical industries from forced labor-tainted goods while ramping up pressure on Beijing.

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