EV components from China are now being subjected to more scrutiny at U.S. borders under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).
Car batteries, tires, steel and aluminum were recently added to a revised list of Chinese imports that should be more heavily scrutinized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), according to Reuters. Previously, the UFLPA, which banned the import of goods to the U.S. from Xinjiang, China, focused on tomatoes, cotton apparel and solar panels.
“The timing of these changes does not reflect any specific changes in strategy or operations,” a CBP spokesperson said in a statement.
Though the agency did not respond directly to questions regarding the increased scrutiny of car parts, the spokesperson said the organization’s focus is on “where there are high risks in U.S. supply chains.” In a report given to Congress in July 2023, the CBP listed lithium-ion batteries, tires, “and other automobile components” as some of the “potential risk areas” it was monitoring.
The increased inspection of imported products could create difficulties for car manufacturers that need to provide sufficient proof their supply chains aren’t linked to Xianjung, where the U.S. believes China has established labor camps for Uyghurs and Muslims. Beijing denies any abuses have taken place in the region.
“If you’re a car manufacturer, and you have not started mapping your supply chains for the critical minerals and the parts of the sub-assemblies that are going through China and where they are getting their goods from, you are running a real peril as we go into the back half of the year,” said Brandon Daniels the CEO of Exiger, a supply chain management company.
