IB 
Union Calendar No. 730 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7981 
[Report No. 118–895] 
To ensure that goods made using or containing cobalt extracted or processed 
with the use of child or forced labor in the Democratic Republic of 
the Congo do not enter the United States market. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 15, 2024 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Ways and Means 
DECEMBER 17, 2024 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 15, 2024] 
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A BILL 
To ensure that goods made using or containing cobalt ex-
tracted or processed with the use of child or forced 
labor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo do not 
enter the United States market. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop China’s Exploi-
tation of Congolese Children and Adult Forced Labor 
through Cobalt Mining Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Cobalt is an essential component of most 
lithium-ion batteries, which are key components in 
many smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles, 
among other electronic devices. According to the Inter-
national Energy Agency (IAE), worldwide demand is 
expected to increase over 1,000 percent for lithium 
and 600 percent for cobalt by 2040, as demands for 
alternative energy systems and battery storage are ex-
pected to grow significantly 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 are re-
portedly owned wholly or in part by companies lo-
cated in the People’s Republic of China. 
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(4) Numerous analysts report significant con-
cerns with forced labor, including forced or inden-
tured child labor, in the DRC mining industry. 
(5) 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. 
(6) 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 inden-
tured child labor. Such merchandise is subject to ex-
clusion or seizure and may lead to criminal inves-
tigation of the importer. 
SEC. 3. INVESTIGATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Forced Labor Enforce-
ment Task Force, established under section 741 of the 
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation 
Act (19 U.S.C. 4681), in consultation with the heads of 
other relevant Federal agencies, shall complete and submit 
to the appropriate congressional committees the results of 
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an investigation into the alleged use of forced labor in the 
cobalt mining industry of the DRC that— 
(1) contains a strategy for the United States 
Government to effectively enforce section 307 of the 
Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307) to prevent the 
importation into the United States of cobalt mined by 
forced labor that includes measures that— 
(A) can trace the origin of goods and offer 
greater supply chain transparency relating to co-
balt from the DRC; and 
(B) ensure that cobalt mined by forced labor 
does not enter the United States; 
(2) contains a strategy to ensure that cobalt 
mined by forced labor does not enter the United 
States market as goods imported from third countries; 
and 
(3) contains a strategy to ensure that cobalt 
mined by forced labor denied entry to the United 
States market does not later enter the United States 
market. 
(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The investigation 
required by subsection (a) shall include the following: 
(1) A list of— 
(A) entities in the DRC that potentially 
mine or process cobalt using forced labor; and 
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(B) categories of downstream products that 
include cobalt mined in the DRC and are, there-
fore, identified as priority sectors for enforcement 
under section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 
U.S.C. 1307). 
(2) Recommendations for efforts, initiatives, and 
tools and technologies to be adopted to ensure that 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection can accurately 
identify and trace cobalt mined by forced labor in the 
DRC. 
(3) A description of how the list of entities re-
quired by subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) shall be 
regularly updated and reported to the appropriate 
congressional committees. 
(4) A strategy to coordinate and collaborate with 
appropriate nongovernmental organizations and pri-
vate sector entities to implement the enforcement 
strategy for cobalt mined with forced labor and to cre-
ate and update the list of entities required in sub-
paragraph (A) of paragraph (1). 
(c) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) and 
any publicly published updates described by subsection (d) 
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include 
a classified annex, if necessary. 
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(d) UPDATES.—After the submission of the strategy re-
quired by subsection (a), the Forced Labor Enforcement 
Task Force shall provide briefings to the appropriate con-
gressional committees on a semiannual basis and, as appli-
cable, on— 
(1) any updates to the strategy required by sub-
section (a); 
(2) any additional actions taken to prevent the 
importation of cobalt mined with forced labor, includ-
ing actions described in this Act; and 
(3) any action U.S. Customs and Border Protec-
tion has taken to enforce section 307 of the Tariff Act 
of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307) with respect to cobalt mined 
in the DRC. 
(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 forced labor in the DRC mining indus-
try has ended. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) 
APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit-
tees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Ways and Means of 
the House of Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Finance of the Sen-
ate. 
(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 hand tools. 
(3) DRC.—The term ‘‘DRC’’ means the Demo-
cratic Republic of the Congo. 
(4) 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). 
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Union Calendar No. 730 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7981 
[Report No. 118–895] 
A BILL 
To ensure that goods made using or containing co-
balt extracted or processed with the use of child 
or forced labor in the Democratic Republic of the 
Congo do not enter the United States market. 
DECEMBER 17, 2024 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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