US is target

(Bloomberg) -The Trump administration said it would increase the investigation into the import of steel, copper, lithium and other materials from China to enforce a US ban on goods that were allegedly made with forced labor in the country’s Xinjiang region. The announcement of new ‘high-priority sectors’ targeted by four-year-old Uyghur-Wang prevention law was included on Tuesday at an annual update of the US government’s maintenance efforts. It is also on the broader trade goals of President Donald Trump, as he tries to lower the US trade deficit with China and push Beijing to limit the shipping of Fentanyl and precursor chemicals. “America has a moral, economic and national security duty to eradicate threats that endanger our country’s wealth, including unfair trade practices that harm the US population and call our economic growth,” Kristi, secretary of the domestic security, said in a statement. The administration continued with the announcement at a time when Trump tried to improve the relationship with his peer, Xi Jinping. The US president extended a break on higher rates on goods from China last week as he seeks a personal meeting with the Chinese leader. In terms of the Act of 2021, the US government accepts that anything that was even partially made in the Chinese manufacturing center of Xinjiang is produced with forced labor and cannot be imported to the US. Companies can win exemptions if they can provide ‘clear and convincing evidence’, forced labor has not been used. The measure is intended to help combat the alleged oppression of Uyghurs and other minorities in the province of Xinjiang. Beijing repeatedly denied the accusations that minorities were forced to work against their will. Although the all goods Act applies, it originally has clothing, cotton and cotton products, tomatoes and silica-based products-in-include polyilicon-exceeding sectors with high priority for enforcement. Under former President Joe Biden, the government has expanded the products that are subject to extra investigations to include aluminum, polyvinyl chloride and seafood. The Trump administration’s Tuesday announcement expands the list again to include red dates, caustic soda and lithium, as well as steel and copper. According to Morgan Stanley data, the US does not import a significant tonnage of copper from China. In 2024, the US imported approximately 470,000 tonnes of steel from China, equal to 0.5% of domestic consumption, according to the Department of Trade. -With help from Joe Deaux. More stories like these are available on Bloomberg.com © 2025 Bloomberg LP