I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6909 
To ensure that goods made using or containing cobalt refined in the People’s 
Republic of China do not enter the United States market under the 
presumption that the cobalt is extracted or processed with the use of 
child and forced labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 29, 2023 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. VAN DREW, and Mr. NUNN of 
Iowa) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Af-
fairs, and Oversight and Accountability, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To ensure that goods made using or containing cobalt refined 
in the People’s Republic of China do not enter the 
United States market under the presumption that the 
cobalt is extracted or processed with the use of child 
and forced labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:52 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6909.IH
H6909
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘China’s Odious and 
Brutally Atrocious Labor Trafficking Supply Chain Act’’ 
or the ‘‘COBALT Supply Chain Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Cobalt is an essential component of lithium- 
ion batteries, which are predominantly used for elec-
tric vehicles, smartphones, and laptops, among other 
electronic devices. According to the International 
Energy Agency, the world is expected to see a 
fortyfold increase in lithium demand and a twenty-
fold increase in cobalt demand by 2040, as the de-
mand for electric vehicles is expected to grow signifi-
cantly during this period. 
(2) More than one-half of the world’s cobalt re-
sources are in the DRC, which supplied approxi-
mately 70 percent of the global cobalt mine produc-
tion in 2021. 
(3) Fifteen of the DRC’s 19 cobalt mines were 
owned or financed by PRC companies. 
(4) Firms based in the PRC hold a near mo-
nopoly in the DRC’s cobalt sector, according to the 
Biden Administration. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:52 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6909.IH
H6909
(5) The mining industry in the DRC is beset 
with child labor and forced labor, disregard for 
worker safety, and environmental degradation. 
(6) Approximately 15 to 30 percent of cobalt 
produced in the DRC comes from artisanal and 
small-scale mining. An estimated 255,000 miners 
work in artisanal and small-scale mining in the 
DRC, of whom at least 40,000 are children. 
(7) Artisanal production was chiefly exported to 
the PRC or processed within the DRC by PRC 
firms, according to an article ‘‘China, the Demo-
cratic Republic of the Congo, and artisanal cobalt 
mining from 2000 through 2020’’ published in Pro-
ceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 
(PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National 
Academy of Sciences (NAS). 
(8) In the 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report, 
the Department of State emphasized that ‘‘In the 
[DRC,] artisanal and small-scale mining of cobalt 
has been associated with forced child labor and other 
abuses’’, noting further that ‘‘Since 2015, the TIP 
Report narratives on the DRC have highlighted 
forced labor of children in artisanal cobalt mines.’’. 
The DRC is on the Tier 2 Watch List, and will be 
automatically downgraded to Tier 3, subjecting it to 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:52 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6909.IH
H6909
sanctions, if it does not substantively and consist-
ently improve its record on trafficking. 
(9) Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 
U.S.C. 1307) states that it is illegal to import into 
the United States ‘‘goods, wares, articles, and mer-
chandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly 
or in part’’ by forced labor, including forced or in-
dentured child labor. Such merchandise is subject to 
exclusion or seizure and may lead to criminal inves-
tigation of the importer. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States to— 
(1) ensure that the PRC does not undermine 
the effective enforcement of section 307 of the Tariff 
Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307); 
(2) lead the international community in ending 
child labor and forced labor practices wherever such 
practices occur through all means available to the 
United States Government, including by prohibiting 
the importation of goods made with cobalt or con-
taining cobalt extracted from the DRC by companies 
from the PRC; 
(3) recognize that the PRC’s dominance in 
DRC’s cobalt extraction and the processing and re-
fining of cobalt is a national security concern of the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:52 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6909.IH
H6909
United States that requires a strategy developed 
jointly by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of 
Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads 
of other appropriate Federal agencies; and 
(4) coordinate with Mexico and Canada to ef-
fectively implement Article 23.6 of the United 
States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to prohibit the im-
portation of goods produced in whole or in part by 
forced labor or compulsory labor, including those 
goods produced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous 
Region (XUAR), including the processing of cobalt 
and goods made with cobalt. 
SEC. 
4. 
REBUTTABLE 
PRESUMPTION 
THAT 
COVERED 
GOODS ARE GOODS THAT ARE MADE WHOLLY 
OR IN PART WITH FORCED LABOR OR CHILD 
LABOR. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Pro-
tection— 
(1) shall apply a presumption that covered 
goods are goods that are made wholly or in part 
with forced labor or child labor; and 
(2) shall prohibit the entry of such goods at any 
of the ports and the United States, and shall other-
wise prohibit the importation of such goods, in ac-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:52 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6909.IH
H6909
cordance with section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 
(19 U.S.C. 1307). 
(b) EXCEPTION.—The requirements of paragraphs 
(1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall not apply with respect 
to covered goods if the Commissioner determines that the 
importer of record of the covered goods has demonstrated 
by clear and convincing evidence that such goods do not 
contain cobalt refined in the PRC. 
(c) REPORT REQUIRED.—The Commissioner shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees and 
make available to the public, not later than 30 days after 
making a determination to apply the exception under sub-
section (b) with respect to any covered goods, a report 
identifying the evidence for such determination. 
(d) REGULATIONS.—The Commissioner may pre-
scribe regulations— 
(1) to implement subsection (b); or 
(2) to amend any other regulations in order to 
implement this section. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section takes effect on 
the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion may be construed to limit the application of regula-
tions in effect on, or measures taken before, the date of 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:52 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6909.IH
H6909
the enactment of this Act to prevent the importation of 
goods mined, produced, or manufactured, wholly or in 
part, with forced labor into the United States, including 
withhold release orders issued before such date of enact-
ment. 
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT STRATEGY TO ADDRESS CHILD 
LABOR AND FORCED LABOR RELATING TO 
COVERED GOODS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Forced Labor En-
forcement Task Force, established under section 741 of 
the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementa-
tion Act (19 U.S.C. 4681), in consultation with the heads 
of other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit to the ap-
propriate congressional committees a report that— 
(1) contains an enforcement strategy of the 
United States Government to effectively address en-
forcement of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 
(19 U.S.C. 1307) to prevent the importation into the 
United States of covered goods that includes meas-
ures that— 
(A) can be taken to trace the origin of 
goods, offer greater supply chain transparency, 
and identify third country supply chain routes 
for the covered goods; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:52 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6909.IH
H6909
(B) ensure that covered goods do not enter 
the United States; 
(2) contains a strategy to ensure that covered 
goods do not enter the United States market as 
goods imported from third countries, including from 
Canada or Mexico; 
(3) contains a strategy to ensure that covered 
goods denied entry to the United States market do 
not later enter the United States market through 
third countries; 
(4) describes authorities to seize or destroy cov-
ered goods denied entry to the United States; and 
(5) describes measures to address child labor 
and forced labor in the mining, production, smelting, 
or processing of metals or minerals, in particular co-
balt and lithium and their derivatives, in the DRC. 
(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The strategy re-
quired by subsection (a) shall include the following: 
(1) A list of— 
(A) covered goods; 
(B) entities that refine cobalt in the PRC; 
(C) entities that mine cobalt in the PRC 
and whether any of these entities operate in the 
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR); 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:52 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6909.IH
H6909
(D) entities that import covered goods in 
the United States; 
(E) entities, in the DRC, owned or con-
trolled by PRC entities, or financed by PRC 
state-owned banks or institutions that mine or 
process cobalt; and 
(F) priority sectors for enforcement of im-
ports made with covered PRC goods, with a 
sector-specific enforcement plan for each pri-
ority sector. 
(2) Recommendations for efforts, initiatives, 
and tools and technologies to be adopted to ensure 
that U.S. Customs and Border Protection can accu-
rately identify and trace covered goods. 
(3) A description of the additional resources 
necessary for U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
and other Federal entities, including the Forced 
Labor Enforcement Task Force, to effectively imple-
ment the strategy. 
(4) A description of how the list of entities re-
quired by subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) of para-
graph (1) shall be regularly updated and reported to 
the appropriate congressional committees. 
(5) A strategy to coordinate and collaborate 
with appropriate nongovernmental organizations and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:52 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6909.IH
H6909
private sector entities to implement the enforcement 
strategy for covered goods and to create and update 
the list of entities required in subparagraphs (B) 
and (C) of paragraph (1). 
(c) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) 
and any publicly published updates described by sub-
section (d) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but 
may include a classified annex, if necessary. 
(d) UPDATES.—After the submission of the strategy 
required by subsection (a), the Forced Labor Enforcement 
Task Force shall provide briefings to the appropriate con-
gressional committees on a quarterly basis and, as applica-
ble, on any updates to the strategy required by subsection 
(a) or additional actions taken to address the importation 
of covered goods, including actions described in this Act. 
(e) SUNSET.—This section shall cease to have effect 
on the earlier of— 
(1) the date that is 8 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act; or 
(2) the date on which the President submits to 
the appropriate congressional committees a deter-
mination that child labor and forced labor in the 
mining industry of the DRC has ended, including 
artisanal and small-scale mining sectors. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:52 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6909.IH
H6909
SEC. 6. CERTIFICATION THAT FEDERAL VEHICLE PUR-
CHASES ARE FREE OF PARTS MADE OR 
MINED WITH CHILD LABOR OR FORCED 
LABOR. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President shall 
certify whether all vehicles purchased in the prior year by 
the United States Government are completely free of parts 
made or mined, wholly or in part, with child labor or 
forced labor in the DRC or the Xinjiang Uyghur Autono-
mous Region (XUAR). 
(b) EXCEPTION.—The certification required by sub-
section (a) shall not apply with respect to vehicles pur-
chased in the prior year by the Department of Defense. 
(c) SUBMISSION
TO CONGRESS; PUBLICATION
IN 
FEDERAL REGISTER.—The President shall— 
(1) submit the certification required by sub-
section (a) to the appropriate congressional commit-
tees; and 
(2) publish such certification in the Federal 
Register. 
(d) DOCUMENTATION FOR CERTIFICATION.—Docu-
mentation mapping the supply chains of all the vehicles 
and their parts, procured in the prior year by the United 
States Government, shall be available upon request by 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:52 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6909.IH
H6909
Members of Congress from the Department of Homeland 
Security. 
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on Financial Services, and the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means of the House of 
Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs, and the Committee on Finance 
of the Senate. 
(2) ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE MINING.— 
The term ‘‘artisanal and small-scale mining’’— 
(A) means mining with minimal to no 
mechanization; and 
(B) includes the use of intensive handtools. 
(3) CHILD
LABOR.—The term ‘‘child labor’’ 
means work that deprives children of their child-
hood, their potential, and their dignity, and that is 
harmful to physical and mental development, as such 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:52 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6909.IH
H6909
term is commonly used by the International Labour 
Organization. 
(4) COVERED
GOODS.—The term ‘‘covered 
goods’’ means goods, wares, articles, or merchandise 
that contain cobalt refined in the PRC. 
(5) DRC.—The term ‘‘DRC’’ means the Demo-
cratic Republic of the Congo. 
(6) FORCED LABOR.—The term ‘‘forced labor’’ 
has the meaning given that term in section 307 of 
the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307). 
(7) PRC.—The term ‘‘PRC’’ means the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:52 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H6909.IH
H6909