U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has banned all imports from the Chinese sporting goods brand Li-Ning, alleging that the company uses North Korean labor, which breaches U.S. sanctions.
The brand was founded by former Olympic gymnast Li Ning and is a dominant sportswear and sports equipment company in China. On March 15, U.S. customs announced that it would be detaining any Li-Ning products brought through U.S. ports of entry after reviewing its supply chain.
All goods, wares, and articles that were produced through forced labor, made wholly or in part by North Korean citizens, are prohibited from entry in the U.S. through the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
“Such merchandise will not be entitled to entry unless the importer provides clear and convincing evidence that their merchandise was not produced with convict labor, forced labor, or indentured labor under penal sanctions within 30 days of notice of detention,” said the CBP in a statement.
According to AnnMarie Highsmith, CBP Office of Trade Executive Assistant Commissioner, this move was made to “uphold the fundamental value of human dignity.”
Previously, Li-Ning attracted attention for supporting cotton use from China’s far west Xinjiang region, where the Beijing regime reportedly created a campaign of repression against Uyghurs and other Muslim communities. Li-Ning has listed its use of Xinjiang cotton on its clothing tags for a while even though cotton from that region most likely comes from Uyghur forced labor.
In 2021, President Biden placed a ban on all imports from China’s Xinjiang region over concerns of forced labor.
“[The law] is yet another tool in CBP’s trade enforcement arsenal that allows us to […] ensure the goods that enter the United States are free from forced labor,” said Highsmith.