US Targets Chinese Steel And Lithium for Forced-Labor Scrutiny

Yahoo

11 hours ago

(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration said it will step up scrutiny of imports of steel, copper, lithium and other materials from China to enforce a US ban on goods allegedly made with forced labor in the country's Xinjiang region.
Chicago Schools Seeks $1 Billion of Short-Term Debt as Cash Gone
A Photographer's Pipe Dream: Capturing New York's Vast Water System
Why New York City Has a Fleet of New EVs From a Dead Carmaker
A London Apartment Tower With Echoes of Victorian Rail and Ancient Rome
Princeton Plans New Budget Cuts as Pressure From Trump Builds
The announcement of new 'high-priority sectors' targeted under the four-year-old Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act was included Tuesday in an annual update to the US government's enforcement efforts. It also dovetails with President Donald Trump's broader trade goals, as he seeks to lower the US trade deficit with China and pressures Beijing to curb shipments of fentanyl and precursor chemicals.
'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,' Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
Still, the administration went ahead with the announcement at a time when Trump has sought to improve relations with his counterpart, Xi Jinping. The US president last week extended a pause on higher tariffs on goods from China for 90 days as he seeks an in-person meeting with the Chinese leader.
Under the 2021 law, the US government assumes that anything made even partially in the Chinese manufacturing hub of Xinjiang is produced with forced labor and cannot be imported into the US. Companies may win exemptions if they can provide 'clear and convincing evidence' forced labor was not used.
The measure is meant to help combat alleged repression of Uyghurs and other minorities in the province of Xinjiang. Beijing has repeatedly denied accusations that minorities are compelled to work against their will.
Although the law applies to all goods, it originally singled out apparel, cotton and cotton products, tomatoes and silica-based products — including polysilicon — as high-priority sectors for enforcement. Under former President Joe Biden, the government expanded the products subject to extra scrutiny to include aluminum, polyvinyl chloride and seafood.
The Trump administration's Tuesday announcement expands the list again to encompass red dates, caustic soda and lithium, as well as steel and copper.
The US doesn't import significant tonnage of copper from China, according to data from Morgan Stanley. In 2024, the US imported about 470,000 tons of steel from China, equal to 0.5% of domestic consumption, according to the Commerce Department.
--With assistance from Joe Deaux.
Foreigners Are Buying US Homes Again While Americans Get Sidelined
What Declining Cardboard Box Sales Tell Us About the US Economy
Women's Earnings Never Really Recover After They Have Children
Americans Are Getting Priced Out of Homeownership at Record Rates
Yosemite Employee Fired After Flying Trans Pride Flag
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.