Ninestar Continues to Be Kept in the Dark Over US Bans

Ninestar Continues to Be Kept in the Dark Over US Bans

As of January 18, 2024,  Ninestar has still not seen the evidence that caused the US government on June 9, 2023, to have its goods banned immediately from entering the US.

Despite repeated requests, the China-based corporation and its subsidiaries named in the ban have only seen a heavily redacted version of the documents, which caused the DHS to add Ninestar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List.

The DHS maintains Ninestar and some of its subsidiaries have used forced or slave labor in its Chinese supply chains or factories.

On August 22, 2023, the Ninestar Corporation filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other related parties of the U.S. government before the U.S. Court of International Trade.

Judge Katzmann, overseeing the matter at the New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade, urged the parties to pursue all necessary administrative steps to avoid hearing the matter in court. This has resulted in several delays.

Katzmann revealed on November 30, 2023, that there are three versions of the case against Ninestar:

1. a fully redacted public version,
2. a slightly less redacted version visible to the parties and
3. a fully unredacted version with “highly sensitive” information, viewable only by the government and the court.

Many have been led to believe that Ninestar has also seen the fully unredacted version, but on January 18, 2024,  it was revealed that this was not the case. Ninestar remains in the dark over the case against it.

What happened on January 18

The discussions on  January 18 included both public and private segments. Judge Katzmann had previously suggested the DHS and Ninestar exhaust all administrative remedies in the hope the case could be dismissed.

One observer commented, “In response, Ninestar made compelling arguments, both about the likely futility of pursuing administrative relief, and also what it views as the unfairness of the process.”

The hearing also delved into the standards of review for different stages of the UFLPA Entity Listing process. Ninestar argued that if companies can be listed based on a “reasonable cause” or “reasonable suspicion” standard, it’s unfair to demand Ninestar to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that it doesn’t use forced labor, especially without knowing the evidence considered actionable by the US government.

Why is there a ban?

Ninestar asserts the U.S. government’s action has mistakenly linked it with forced labor. Ninestar maintains it has always been committed to protecting and respecting the rights of its employees.

Consequently, Ninestar filed this lawsuit because “the DHS has acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner in violation of U.S. law.” The company claims the action creates a “guilty until proven innocent” business environment that undermines fair competition and choice for American consumers. Ninestar is committed to correcting the record and restoring its legitimate business operations in the United States.

Ninestar has requested the court to impose an injunction on the bans and allow the company and its subsidiaries to continue their business in the US until the matter can be fully resolved in its favour. Judge Katzmann has yet to respond to the request for the injunction.

Related:

• Ninestar – the Chinese matter that won’t go away
• Ninestar Files Suit Against US Government

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