Forced labor ties lead to restricted imports for three more Chinese companies
In an effort to eliminate goods made with Uyghur forced labor, the U.S. State Department added three more Chinese companies to the list of those facing import restrictions for goods coming into the U.S. This brings the total number of companies on the list to 27.
Goods from Xinjiang (Uyghur region) are guilty until proven innocent
The legal backing for these restrictions falls under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List (UFLPA) which bans the importation of goods into the United States that were produced by companies based in the Uyghur region or identified as having connections to production to it. Unless the importers on the list can prove the goods they are shipping were not produced with forced labor, they are banned from bringing their products into U.S. markets.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement via Reuters,
“We do not tolerate companies that use forced labor, that abuse the human rights of individuals in order to make a profit… (and we) will continue to prosecute these companies, fight for the rights of the abused, and work towards the elimination of Uyghur forced labor.”
In another welcome move, as part of the same package the State Department issued an addendum to its business advisory on Uyghur region supply chains, citing China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and the evidence of widespread use of forced labor there.”