H.R. 2310 — COBALT Supply Chain Act

This section states nine congressional findings concerning global cobalt demand (projected 20-fold increase by 2040), the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) supply of over 70% of global cobalt mine production in 2021 from resources comprising over half of the world's total, Chinese firms' ownership or financing of 15 of 19 DRC cobalt mines and near-monopoly in the sector, child and forced labor in DRC artisanal and small-scale mining (15-30% of production from an estimated 255,000 miners, including at least 40,000 children), export of such artisanal cobalt primarily to China, limited DRC government enforcement efforts, and the prohibition under 19 U.S.C. 1307 on importing goods produced wholly or in part by forced labor, including forced or indentured child labor.

This section states that it is the policy of the United States to (1) ensure that the People's Republic of China (PRC) does not undermine enforcement of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307), which prohibits importation of goods made wholly or in part by convict, forced, or indentured labor; (2) lead the international community in prohibiting imports of goods made with cobalt or containing cobalt extracted from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by PRC companies, among other measures to end child and forced labor; (3) recognize the PRC's dominance in DRC cobalt extraction, processing, and refining as a U.S. national security concern requiring a joint strategy by the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Commerce and other agency heads; and (4) coordinate with Mexico and Canada to implement Article 23.6 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement by prohibiting imports produced by forced labor, including those from China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region involving cobalt processing and cobalt-containing goods.

This section establishes a rebuttable presumption that covered goods are made wholly or in part with forced labor or child labor, requiring the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to prohibit their importation under section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (which prohibits entry of goods produced wholly or in part with forced labor, convict labor, or indentured labor). (Thus, CBP must enforce the prohibition unless the importer demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that the goods do not contain cobalt refined in the People's Republic of China (PRC).) CBP must submit a report to congressional committees and the public within 30 days of granting any such exception, identifying the evidence relied upon; the provision takes effect 180 days after enactment; and it does not limit existing regulations or enforcement measures (including pre-enactment withhold release orders) under section 307.

This section requires the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), within 120 days of enactment, to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report containing a U.S. government enforcement strategy under section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307)—which prohibits importation of goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by convict, forced, or indentured labor (including forced or indentured child labor)—to prevent importation of covered goods (i.e., those involving child labor or forced labor). The strategy must include (1) measures to trace origins, enhance supply chain transparency, identify third-country routes, and block entry of covered goods; (2) steps to prevent covered goods from entering as third-country imports, including from Canada or Mexico; (3) measures to stop re-entry of previously denied covered goods via third countries; (4) authorities for seizing or destroying denied covered goods; and (5) actions addressing child and forced labor in mining, production, smelting, or processing of metals or minerals—particularly cobalt, lithium, and derivatives—in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The strategy must also include (1) lists of covered goods, PRC cobalt refiners, PRC cobalt miners (and any Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region operations), U.S. importers of covered goods, PRC-owned/controlled/financed DRC cobalt miners or processors, and priority sectors for enforcement (with sector-specific plans); (2) recommendations for tools and technologies to enable U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to identify and trace covered goods; (3) descriptions of additional resources needed by CBP, FLETF, and other entities; (4) processes for regularly updating and reporting specified entity lists; and (5) coordination with nongovernmental organizations and private sector entities. The report must be unclassified (with a possible classified annex), followed by quarterly briefings and updates on the strategy and related actions. This section sunsets after 8 years or upon a presidential determination that child and forced labor in DRC mining—including artisanal and small-scale sectors—has ended.

This section requires the President, not later than 90 days after enactment and annually thereafter, to certify whether all non-Department of Defense vehicles purchased by the United States government in the prior year are completely free of parts made or mined, wholly or in part, with child labor or forced labor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). The President must submit the certification to the appropriate congressional committees, publish it in the Federal Register, and make supply chain documentation for such vehicles available upon request by Members of Congress from the Department of Homeland Security.

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including: (1) appropriate congressional committees as specified House and Senate committees (i.e., House Committees on Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, and Ways and Means; Senate Committees on Foreign Relations, Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Finance); (2) artisanal and small-scale mining as mining with minimal to no mechanization, including the use of intensive handtools; (3) child labor as work depriving children under age 18 of their childhood, potential, or dignity, or harmful to their health, safety, or morals, as commonly used by the International Labour Organization; (4) covered goods as goods, wares, articles, or merchandise containing cobalt refined in the PRC (i.e., People's Republic of China); (5) DRC as the Democratic Republic of the Congo; (6) forced labor as having the meaning given in section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307), which prohibits importation of goods produced with forced labor (i.e., work exacted under menace of penalty without voluntary offer, including forced or indentured child labor); and (7) PRC as the People's Republic of China.