February 14, 2025: The US subsidiary of China’s lead battery manufacturing Camel Group is suing the federal government after being blacklisted over allegations of using forced labour, Batteries International can reveal.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in August 2023 that all Camel Energy goods would be restricted from entering the US.

The DHS cited the alleged participation of the Camel Group and others in business practices targeting members of persecuted groups, especially from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, including Uyghur minorities in China.

Camel has now launched legal action in the US Court of International Trade against the DHS and other federal agencies and individuals involved for “arbitrary and capricious actions”.

In papers seen by Batteries International that were filed with the court on January 17, Camel said the group, with its US subsidiary, conducted over $100 million in business in the US market, including over $75 million in gross sales in 2022.

Camel claimed it has suffered significant commercial and reputational damage, including the loss of opportunities with tier one original equipment manufacturers and other major customers totalling over $100 million.

The group said it continues to accumulate commercial damages and reputational harm each day it unfairly remains on the DHS Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List. 

Camel said it presented evidence to disprove the allegations in November 2023 and petitioned to be removed from the UFLPA list. However, the bid was denied last July, still without a clear explanation, according to Camel.

The battery company said its due process rights have been “utterly disregarded, ignored and trampled in a flawed and poorly executed process”.

China’s government has repeatedly denied all allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

Camel launched pilot production at a lead battery line at its Michigan plant in July 2023.