This week Lexmark released a brief statement that it intends to replace Ninestar Corporation as a supplier globally.
The Lexmark Statement:
On June 9, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced actions to restrict goods produced by Ninestar Corp., one of Lexmark’s many suppliers, from entering the United States. Lexmark is not part of the order.
Lexmark has stopped shipments from Ninestar and its affected subsidiaries to the U.S. and will replace Ninestar as a supplier globally.
As a global manufacturer that utilizes a multi-source strategy and regional manufacturing facilities, only a small portion of Lexmark manufacturing comes from Ninestar and its affected subsidiaries. We do not anticipate significant business disruption from this order.
Lexmark is committed to ensuring that all our suppliers adhere to the highest standards of compliance, security and social responsibility. We support international labor standards and follow all applicable laws in the markets in which we operate.
Background Information
It’s been a wild month with Reuters and other news outlets reporting on June 9 that the U.S. had banned imports from Ninestar Corporation over alleged human rights abuses. Reportedly, the company’s business practices target China’s Uyghurs and other persecuted groups who have been used as forced labor. According to Reuters, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) instituted this ban as part of the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act (UFLPA), which was signed into law in December 2021. The act prohibits imports into the U.S. that are either produced in Xinjiang or by companies identified on an UFLPA Entity List, unless the importer can prove the goods were not produced with forced labor.
Reuters add that 22 companies are now on the list, and that DHS has examined over $1.3 billion worth of goods likely manufactured with forced labor nearly a year after the UFLPA was implemented. Ninestar and its eight Zhuhai-based subsidiaries were added to the list for working with the government of Xinjiang to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups, out of Xinjiang.
A future episode of Fridays with Frank will delve more deeply into this story and what it means to office technology dealers.
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