Chinese printer manufacturer sues Homeland Security over Entity List inclusion

China’s Ninestar Corp, one of the world’s top manufacturers of laser printers, has filed a lawsuit and motion for preliminary injunction in a US court to overturn a ban on imports related to forced labour and human rights violations in Xinjiang.

The lawsuit, filed 22 August before the US Court of International Trade, is against the US Department of Homeland Security (‘DHS’) which placed Ninestar on the US Entity List in June for participating in business practices that target China’s Uyghurs and other persecuted groups.

‘DHS added Ninestar and certain of its subsidiaries to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List without offering any explanation or justification whatsoever for said action,’ the company said in a statement.

The lawsuit comes ahead of US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s four-day visit to China, starting 27 August.

Ninestar said that since the designation ‘the company has devoted significant time and resources reviewing its operations and management and has concluded that the inclusion of Ninestar and certain of its subsidiaries on the UFLPA Entity List is baseless.’

‘The U.S. government’s action mistakenly links Ninestar to forced labor. This linkage is not supported by the facts. On the contrary, Ninestar has always been committed to protecting and respecting the rights of its employees,’ the company said.

In conjunction with the lawsuit, Ninestar also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction with the US Court of International Trade, requesting that ‘the court issue a preliminary injunction as soon as possible to promptly suspend the implementation of the decision to place Ninestar on the UFLPA Entity List in order to mitigate the devastating and unwarranted financial and reputational harm accruing daily.’