Michigan Bill Aims to Block Tax Incentives for Companies Involved in Uyghur Forced Labor

By Tahir Imin Uyghurian
Uyghur Post, Dec 3, 2025

On Nov. 13, Rep. Bryan Posthumus (R-Rockford) introduced legislation to prevent the state from granting tax incentives to companies with demonstrated ties to forced labor in the Uyghur homeland under Chinese rule. The bill would also require the state to claw back payments previously awarded to any company found to have slave labor in its supply chain in the future.

The federal government maintains a list of entities known to use forced labor from China in their supply chains. Posthumus’s bill would amend the Michigan Strategic Fund Act to prohibit state economic assistance—such as tax incentives or subsidies—from going to companies that appear on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) “Entity List.”

“We don’t have the power to fix everything wrong in the world, but we do have the power to make sure that we aren’t turning a blind eye to human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Party,” Posthumus said. “We have the power to make sure that Michigan taxpayers aren’t giving money to companies that use forced labor.”

House Bill 5288 was introduced on Nov. 13 and referred to the House Committee on Economic Competitiveness. Posthumus introduced a similar bill, House Bill 5959, during the 2023–2024 session, though it did not become law.

The new bill also includes a “claw-back” provision: if a company receiving state aid is later added to the UFLPA Entity List, it must repay any grants or loans received, along with a penalty.

In 2024, Utah passed H.B. 404, barring the state from sister-city ties with regions using forced labor and restricting certain state contracts with companies linked to forced labor or controlled by China.

It has been widely documented that the Chinese government uses Uyghurs as forced and cheap labor, prompting the U.S. government to pass the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in 2021.

In May 2025, The New York Times reported that Uyghur forced labor continued in Chinese factories supplying global brands, and that China had found ways to evade the forced-labor ban.