The companies are blocked from importing products to the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that it has blocked 43 Chinese companies from having their products enter the United States because of allegations of unethical labor practices, making it the largest single-day enforcement action against Chinese forced labor goods in recorded history.
DHS blocked the companies because they stand accused of using "slave labor" in China, according to Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin. The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, which helps root out goods made with unethical labor, helped identify the batch announced Friday.
"The Trump Administration remains steadfast in its commitment to remove forced labor from U.S. supply chains and to holding foreign companies accountable for their exploitation,” said DHS Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, & Plans Rob Law, who serves as the Chair of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force.
The companies that were blocked from doing business in the United States are in the aluminum, apparel, copper, cotton and tomato sector. They include Kuitun Yadasi Textile Co. and Xinjiang Nuziline Bio-Pharmaceutical Co.
ABC News has reached out to the Chinese embassy for comment on the matter.
The blocking of these companies is a matter of national security, according to DHS, saying that keeping "illicit goods" out of the market is important to hold companies accountable for their illegal labor practices.
In total, there are 187 entities on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List. Established in 2021, UFLPA bans goods from Xinjiang, China, and requires proof that the companies added to the list are using Uyghurs -- which is a Muslim minority in China to do work.
"We are uncompromising in the continued prevention of unfair practices that undermine American businesses -- expansion of the UFLPA Entity List is a tool by which DHS can ensure both our economic and national security," Law said.
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