U.S. Bans Imports from China’s Ninestar Corp Over Uyghurs Human Rights Abuses!

[SalesServiceGuy]

On June 9th 2023, The U.S. Government exposes Ninestar and it’s 8 subsidiaries for using forced labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other persecuted groups, out of the Xinjiang region of China.

Ninestar who operated above the law around the world now faces a shameful reality.
Tonernews.com has been on the lookout of this bogus Chinese industry ever since it started to expose unusual practices by Ninestar as early as 2016. We don’t know how long Ninestar has been using forced labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other persecuted groups to make their toner consumables but on December 13, 2021, a report by the

China labor watchdog

, exposed Ninestar’s for using tens of thousands of workers who were toiling silently in in these Chinese factories to produce these cheap cartridges. Sadly, everyone in the west was OK with that and kept buying these cheap and toxic toners regardless of this shocking report.

Shame on everyone around the world that turned a blind eye and kept on buying these goods, Shame on Ninestar and the blatant violations and exploitation of Chinese labor law that the CCP purposely overlooked and probably sponsored. Shame on Zhuhai National Resources & Jingjie Printing Technology Co., Ltd also known as

Ink-tank

. Shame on Zhuhai Ninestar Information Technology Co. Ltd. Shame on Zhuhai Pantum Electronics Co. Ltd. Shame on Zhuhai Apex Micro electronics Co., Ltd. Shame on Geehy Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Shame on Zhuhai G&G Digital Technology Co., Ltd. Shame on Zhuhai Seine Printing Technology Co., Ltd and shame on Zhuhai Ninestar Management Co., Ltd.

[SalesServiceGuy]

Our industry had HUGE news on June 9th that will impact our entire industry. We have chosen to be forthcoming with our Dealers to allow them to proactively prepare for the anticipated disruption with supplies & equipment. Our view is that every company

(remanufacturer or New build supplier)

will be impacted by this ban.

On June 9th, the USA banned imports from China-based printer maker Ninestar Corp and their 8 subsidiaries.Who is Ninestar? How are they involved in our industry?

Ninestar Corp is the largest company in the global aftermarket for cartridges and components.

Ninestar owns APEX/Geehy which has about 60-70% of the aftermarket cartridge chip market share and also owns 62% of Lexmark. APEX/Greehy makes all the chips for the new HP Jet Intelligence capable printer models produced over the last 5 years and 100% of the Lexmark machines produced in the last 7 years.How will this affect Dealers?

Aftermarket toner providers will run out of stock as incoming replenishment containers have already been impounded.

Ninestar is the sole manufacturer of chips for some popular models. This will result in no new inventory arriving in the USA for the near future. HP SKUs for models produced in the last 5 years. (Ex. CF258A/X, W2020A/X series).

We have about 10 months of inventory on hand. A solution to this may be difficult since no other chip provider has launched this technology over the past year. The likely solution for Remanufacturers will be to supply a used chip for the cartridge, which will not report page volumes/toner levels. This is an unworkable solution for MPS providers. Lexmark SKUs for machines produced in the last 7 years. (Ex. 58D1H00, 58D1U00, 58D1X00, 56F1H00, 56F1U00) We have about 4-6 months of inventory on hand.

What is our plan? What will happen to Gold Line toner?

The key difference with Gold Line over most other brands in the market is that we design and engineer our Bill of Materials (BOM).When Gold Line toner was created in 2017, we adopted a multiple contract manufacturer model and qualified several vendors per SKU.This model gives us the ability to move SKUs between assembly partners when we see quality issues or supply chain disruption (EG. During COVID) We will run out of stock on some SKUs as we transition to our other partners and wait 60-90 days for new inventory to be built and shipped. We anticipate 10% of our SKUs will experience stock outs as we work to transition SKUs to our other qualified Gold Line partners.We are working tirelessly to develop solutions as we all adjust to the reality that the largest company in the global aftermarket for cartridges and components is no longer an option.

[BillyCarpenter]

I've done a lot of business over the years with Static Control...which is now owned owned by NineStar. It's the absolute best aftermarket toner on the market, IMHO. It is top-notch. They also make many other parts for rebuilding HP and other toner carts. But I don't like doing business with scumbags. Fortunately, now that I'm authorized to sell Kyocera, I only use Kyocera Genuine toner. It cost a little more but I feel better about it.

[BillyCarpenter]

I've done a lot of business over the years with Static Control...which is now owned owned by NineStar. It's the absolute best aftermarket toner on the market, IMHO. It is top-notch. They also make many other parts for rebuilding HP and other toner carts. But I don't like doing business with scumbags. Fortunately, now that I'm authorized to sell Kyocera, I only use Kyocera Genuine toner. It cost a little more but I feel better about it.

Static Control Components, Inc. (“Static Control”) and Apex Microelectronics Co., Ltd (“Apex”) are pleased to announce a strategic merger of the two companies. The combination of the two global industry leaders, while maintaining independent operations, will provide customers unparalleled resources and capabilities, and the market with the most technologically advanced and comprehensive product lines, as well as increased speed to market, higher service levels and stronger commitment to further expanding opportunities for the imaging aftermarket.

Static Control, headquartered in Sanford, NC, USA, has been the world's largest manufacturer and supplier of aftermarket imaging systems and components for over 25 years, supplying more than 15,000 products to over 20,000 customers globally through the industry’s most extensive distribution network, and being widely recognized as an industry leader in intellectual property (IP), technology and quality.

Apex, publicly listed on China’s Shenzhen Stock Exchange, is the world’s largest supplier of printing cartridge chips and the owner and pioneer of core and applied technology. Having established a number of state-level R&D centers and laboratories in China and strategic partnership with various integrated circuit enterprises in the United States, Europe, Taiwan and Japan, Apex boasts industry leading technology and the largest share of chip business in the global printing consumables.

[SalesServiceGuy]

... NineStar (the 62% owners of Lexmark) are trying to mess with DHS by moving goods by using multiple shell companies.

Knowing what we know about Ninestar, we cannot rule out the possibility of Ninestar trying to smuggle-in through the U.S., Mexico, and Canada these banned goods. All 30 of these companies are consolidated in their 2021 financial statement, and there are probably more corporate Aliases added to their 2022 financial statement that we don’t have a copy of yet, but why so many companies, is the real question? and let’s not forget all the alias names they have online, in the 100’s.

To me, it seems obvious that NineStar was planning defensive actions on the possibility that the world would dicover that they are using forced labour to build their printers, MFPs, toner, toner parts, printer parts and toner compounds. Having so many shell companies is to confuse border officials.

[SalesServiceGuy]

NEW LAW: China’s Lexmark Now Banned from Getting State Contracts in Georgia USA. (SB 346)


Georgia’s Early Leadership To Prohibit Purchases of Dangerous China Tech Is An Example For Other States

Posted on July 20, 2023 by China Tech Threat

As China Tech Threat (CTT) reported in February, Georgia emerged as an early leader with the passage of SB 346 to protect Georgia residents from China intrusion. Authored by State Rep. Martin Momtahan and signed into law in 2022 by Governor Kemp, the law prohibits companies owned or operated by China from bidding on state contracts. This law was timely as CTT’s research showed Georgia recently spent $47,259,946 on restricted Chinese technology from Lexmark and Lenovo.

Implementation of this new law will help eradicate the use of Georgia taxpayer dollars to purchase dangerous Chinese technology. Rep. Momtahan has been working for its enforcement and in a February 2023 letter to Georgia’s Department of Administrative Services, he called for the Department to “undertake a thorough review, asking all vendors to certify that they are not owned/operated by the People’s Republic of China.”

Many states continue to purchase this risky technology from manufacturers already restricted by U.S. military and intelligence agencies due to their connections to the Chinese government and military (you can read more about Lexmark, Lenovo and two other dangerous Chinese government-owned tech manufacturers in our May briefing paper).

States yet to enact legislation to ban the purchase and deployment of Chinese technology should look to Georgia’s leadership as well as to a growing number of states that have prohibited these dangerous purchases. The most recent legislative efforts include South Dakota’s Governor Kristi Noem who signed SB 189 into law in March, Idaho’s Governor Brad Little who signed HB 294 and Arkansas’ Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders who signed HB 1789 in April, and, most recently, on May 1 Indiana’s Governor Eric Holcomb who signed SB 477.

[mloudy]

This will be interesting. The local Ohio Dept. of Job and Family Services and the Auto Title Deptartment both are supplied with non-BSD Lexmark equipment by the state. They tell us they can't buy their printers from us although they buy all of the copiers from us.

I wonder if Georgia state agencies will immediatly replace all this "dangerous" equipment or at least unplug them from the network?

[SalesServiceGuy]

This will be interesting. The local Ohio Dept. of Job and Family Services and the Auto Title Deptartment both are supplied with non-BSD Lexmark equipment by the state. They tell us they can't buy their printers from us although they buy all of the copiers from us.

I wonder if Georgia state agencies will immediatly replace all this "dangerous" equipment or at least unplug them from the network?

... I think politics and reality will soon collide. Eventually all Lexmark and Lenovo product will be removed from Georgia's LAN. One thing is for sure, no new Lexmark and Lenovo products will be purchased so eventually it will all be replaced within five years.

[mloudy]

How far reaching will this be? You can have a 100% owned Japanese or American company sourcing technology from companies owned/operated by the PRC or having products manufactured in facilities owned/operated by the PRC, even outside of China. If it truly is dangerous then everything should already be off the network and being crushed as we have this conversation.

[SalesServiceGuy]

How far reaching will this be? You can have a 100% owned Japanese or American company sourcing technology from companies owned/operated by the PRC or having products manufactured in facilities owned/operated by the PRC, even outside of China. If it truly is dangerous then everything should already be off the network and being crushed as we have this conversation.

... it can be as far reaching as the local State Procurement office wants it to be.

I do not think the product is dangerous but if the product is associated with Uyghur forced labour, it should be banned.

In Lenovo's case, I do not think it is associated with forced labour so banning it's products means there are concerns that somehow sensitive data could be transmitted back to China. These concerns could be as much political as reality but either way Lenovo gets the chop. There could be many network switches and other technology devices (drones) that could be effected.

I suspect Georgia's actions will have a domino effect across the USA.

Fortunately due to President Biden's "Chips & Science Act", he has envigorated bringing technology manufacturing back to the USA with inpressive numbers and ground breaking of new facilities.