H.R. 10346
Stop China’s Exploitation of Congolese Children and Adult Forced Labor through Cobalt Mining Act
Sponsor: Christopher H. Smith · 0 cosponsors
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Stop China’s Exploitation of Congolese Children and Adult Forced Labor through Cobalt Mining Act
This bill requires the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to complete and submit to Congress the results of an investigation into the alleged use of forced labor in the cobalt mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Specifically, the task force must (1) submit to Congress strategies for preventing the importation of cobalt mined using forced labor, and (2) provide semiannual briefings to Congress.
This requirement ceases to have effect on the earlier of (1) eight years after the date of enactment, or (2) the date on which the President submits to Congress a determination that forced labor in the DRC mining industry has ended.
Text of the bill
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 International Energy Agency (IEA), 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 expected to grow significantly during this period.
(2) More than one-half of the world’s cobalt resources are in the DRC, which supplied approximately 73 percent of the global cobalt mine production in 2025.
(3) Fifteen of the DRC’s 19 cobalt mines are reportedly owned wholly or in part by companies located in the People’s Republic of China.
(4) Numerous analysts report significant concerns with forced labor, including forced or indentured child labor, in the DRC mining industry. Militias in the DRC engage in these illicit mining activities to finance and sustain themselves.
(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 merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by forced labor, including forced or indentured child labor. Such merchandise is subject to exclusion or seizure and may lead to criminal investigation of the importer.