COBALT Supply Chain Act

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 the Congo.

  1. Introduced
  2. Committee
  3. Passed House
  4. Passed Senate
  5. To President
  6. Became law
Sponsor Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] Introduced March 24, 2025 Cosponsors 1 (1 R) Latest action March 24, 2025

Summary

China’s Odious and Brutally Atrocious Labor Trafficking Supply Chain Act or the COBALT Supply Chain Act
This bill prohibits the importation of covered goods that contain cobalt refined in China under the presumption that the goods are made wholly or in part with forced labor or child labor. It also establishes certain reporting requirements, and requires presidential certification that federal vehicle purchases are free of parts made or mined with child labor or forced labor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
Specifically, covered goods shall not be entitled to entry into the United States unless U.S. Customs and Border Protection (1) determines that the importer of record has demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence that the goods do not contain cobalt refined in China, and (2) submits to Congress a report containing such a determination (and makes this report publicly available).
The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force must (1) report to Congress a strategy for preventing the importation of covered goods, and (2) provide quarterly briefings to Congress.
The President must annually certify to Congress whether all vehicles purchased in the prior year by the U.S. government are completely free of parts made or mined wholly or in part with child labor or forced labor in the DRC or the XUAR. This certification must be published in the Federal Register and shall not apply with respect to vehicles purchased in the prior year by the Department of Defense.

Summary by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

Congress.gov

Actions

  1. Mar 24, 2025 Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  2. Mar 24, 2025 Introduced in House

Congressional and federal records come from official public sources: the House Clerk, the U.S. Senate, GovInfo and the Library of Congress (bill status), the Federal Register, and the congress-legislators project. They are copied on a schedule and may lag the official record by a few hours; the official sources govern. News and coverage counts are drawn from the 4Search index and reflect what the press published, not 4Search's views. Nothing here is an endorsement of any candidate, party or position. Terms of use.