DHS adds BGI Genomics and MGI to forced labor import blacklist

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), acting as chair of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), added three Chinese genomics companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List in a notice published in the Federal Register of 29 October 2026 (FR Doc. 2026–22094). From that date, goods mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part by the listed firms fall under the UFLPA’s rebuttable presumption that forced labor was used and are prohibited from entry into the United States under 19 U.S.C. 1307. The update, carried as an appendix to the notice, supersedes the list published on 3 August 2026 (91 FR 48913).

A consolidated register of four lists

The UFLPA (Pub. L. 117–78) requires the FLETF to identify and publish four separate lists and to maintain them as a single consolidated register. The statute, enacted through section 741 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 4681), obliges the task force to name entities in Xinjiang that mine, produce or manufacture goods with forced labor; entities working with the Xinjiang government to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor; entities that export such goods to the United States; and facilities or entities sourcing material from Xinjiang through “poverty alleviation”, “pairing-assistance” or any other government labor scheme. The rebuttable presumption attached to listed entities has applied since 21 June 2022 under section 3(e) of the Act.

Three companies named, with aliases

This update adds three entities to the section 2(d)(2)(B)(ii) list, which covers entities working with the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor or Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz or members of other persecuted groups:

• BGI Genomics Co., Ltd., also known as BGI Genomics, located in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.
• MGI Tech Co., Ltd., also known as MGI, also based in Shenzhen.
• Shenzhen BGI Technology Co., Ltd., also known as BGI Group and BGI Holdings, the controlling shareholder of BGI Genomics.

Two of the three — BGI Genomics and Shenzhen BGI Technology — are simultaneously added to the section 2(d)(2)(B)(v) list, which identifies facilities and entities sourcing material from Xinjiang or from persons working with the regional government or the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps under government labor schemes.

Genetic testing in Xinjiang cited as grounds

The notice states that the US Government has reasonable cause to believe, on specific and articulable information, that BGI Genomics conducts genetic testing in the XUAR alongside the regional government, and that such testing is used to facilitate the recruitment, transport, transfer, harboring or receiving of forced labor or of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz or members of other persecuted groups out of Xinjiang. Shenzhen BGI Technology, described as a genomics and biotechnology company applying sequencing technologies for research, healthcare and commercial use, is said to conduct such testing on human genetic material from the XUAR and to be planning tests on plant and animal material; the notice also notes that the group built and manages the China National GeneBank. MGI Tech is described as controlled by the same ultimate shareholder as Shenzhen BGI Technology and as having supplied genetic testing capacity to the regional government; its activities cover research, development, manufacturing and sales of instruments, reagents and related life-science products.

Removal requests and decision procedure

Additions are decided by majority vote of the FLETF member agencies, following a recommendation to the chair: DHS, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and the Departments of Labor, State, Justice, the Treasury and Commerce, with the Departments of Energy and Agriculture, the National Security Council, US Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations as observers. The chair is the DHS Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy and Plans under Delegation Order No. 23034. Listed entities may file removal requests with supporting information at FLETF.UFLPA.EntityList@hq.dhs.gov; removals are also decided by majority vote, and future revisions will appear on the DHS UFLPA website and in Federal Register appendices. The notice is signed by Robert T. Law, Under Secretary, Office of Strategy, Policy, & Plans; the contact is Samuel Greene, Acting Director, Entity List Office.

Why it matters

The listing reaches beyond finished goods to sequencing instruments, reagents and research services, so US laboratories, hospitals and distributors buying from or partnering with the three companies now carry the burden of rebutting the forced-labor presumption at the border. For genomics and biotech supply chains, the practical effect is that sourcing from the BGI Group and MGI corporate family must be documented or replaced.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 208, 29 October 2026, Notices, p. 68160 (official reference: FR Doc. 2026–22094).