The wheels of justice are turning slowly for Ninestar in its legal attempts to lift its placement on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List by the Department of Homeland Security. Last week’s court ruling, however, provided definite, if minimal, movement.
The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) stated that as the UFLPA is a law that provides for embargoes, the CIT has exclusive jurisdiction over challenges to agency action implementing the UFLPA under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(i)(1)(C)–(D). The court concluded that Ninestar is likely to establish subject matter jurisdiction in this case, under 1581(i)(1)(C)–(D).
This ruling makes “no other disposition and no finding of fact. The
court expresses no view on the other contentions regarding Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction, which are left to any further proceedings,” wrote Judge Gary S. Katzmann at the conclusion of the 19-page decision.
In August, Ninestar filed suit against DHS and related U.S. government parties after being placed on the Entity List in June. The Chinese company believes the actions of DHS were “arbitrary and capricious” in violation of U.S. law. Further, it contends the action creates a “guilty until proven innocent” business environment that undermines fair competition and choice for American consumers. Ninestar says it is committed to correcting the record and restoring its legitimate business operations in the United States.
Ninestar asked the CIT to issue a preliminary injunction as soon as possible to promptly suspend the implementation of the Entity List inclusion to mitigate the “devastating and unwarranted financial and reputational harm accruing daily.”
Products from Ninestar, which registered sales of $3.6 billion in 2022, and its eight Zuhai-based subsidiaries were restricted from U.S. entry due to its “participation in business practices that target members of persecuted groups including Uyghur minorities in the PRC,” the DHS said in a June 9 release.
Ninestar has publicly disavowed the practice of using forced labor. In a September Q&A with ENX Magazine, the company stated “…Ninestar has always been committed to protecting and respecting the rights of its employees.”
