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Has the U.S. Campaign Against Uyghur Forced Labor Been Successful?
Last June, a new U.S. law went into effect aimed at ending the flow of goods from East Turkistan (Xinjiang) to the states—and ending the forced labor system behind it. Under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which passed with bipartisan support, all goods produced fully or partly in East Turkistan (Xinjiang) are presumed to have been made under coercion and therefore barred from entry into the U.S., unless a company can prove otherwise. When it was passed, the law was heralded as the U.S. government’s strongest step yet to address human rights abuses in East Turkistan (Xinjiang).
Now, more than a year since the law went into effect, a recent report suggests that it has had mixed success. The report, authored by researchers at Sheffield Hallam University, focuses on China’s solar industry—one of the law’s key targets.
For the solar business, U.S. scrutiny began even before the law was passed. In 2021, the United States started blocking solar imports linked to a major upstream supplier based in East Turkistan (Xinjiang). It was a warning shot—one that Chinese solar manufacturing giants heeded. They forged new supply chains for the U.S. market, inking supply deals for a critical ingredient of solar panel production, polysilicon, with U.S.- and Germany-based companies to avoid East Turkistan (Xinjiang) sources.
In other sectors targeted by U.S. customs agents, such as apparel and agriculture, companies are also now responsible for tracing their full supply chains and avoiding East Turkitan (Xinjiang). Overall exports from the region to the United States have plummeted. According to Chinese government customs data, for the first half of 2023, East Turkistan (Xinjiang) shipped $23.6 million in goods to the U.S., a significant drop from the $201.5 million in exports last year.
However, the advocates and lawmakers who backed the UFLPA say more still needs to be done to ensure it meets its potential. “The law has already made a difference,” Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, who co-sponsored the bill, said in a statement to Foreign Policy. “But as much as we’ve accomplished, it’s only the tip of the iceberg.” Sens. Merkley and Marco Rubio, as well as Rep. Jim McGovern and Christopher Smith, have called for further measures to strengthen enforcement: expanding scrutiny to new sectors, blacklisting more companies known to have ties to East Turkistan, and applying the law to shipments under $800, such as those from fast fashion companies.
Trade data shows that these shifts have added up. As of 2020, East Turkistan accounted for about 45 percent of the global solar-grade polysilicon supply; by 2022, the share had dropped to 35 percent, according to the solar industry analysis firm Bernreuter Research.
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25/08/2023