US blocks import of Chinese goods produced using 'forced labour' in Uighur region

The United States has blocked four companies and a manufacturing facility in northwestern China from shipping their products to the country because of their alleged dependence on forced labour from Uighurs and other Muslim minorities detained in the Xinjiang region.

US Customs and Border Protection issued orders on September 14 freezing imports from companies that produce cotton, clothing and computer parts in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China.

In a statement, the US Customs and Border Protection said, "The products subject to the Withhold Release Orders (WRO) are produced with state-sponsored forced labour in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where the Chinese government is engaged in systemic human rights abuses against the Uyghur people and other ethnic and religious minorities."

CBP also halted imports of hair products made at a manufacturing facility where authorities believe Uighurs and other ethnic minorities are forced to work.

Ken Cuccinelli, the acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said that the "re-education” internment camp, which provides labour to manufacturing entities in Xinjiang, is portrayed as Vocational Skills Education and Training Center by Chinese authorities.

“By taking this action, DHS is combating illegal and inhumane forced labour, a type of modern slavery, used to make goods that the Chinese government then tries to import into the United States,” said Cuccinelli.

China is accused of mass detentions, religious persecution and forced sterilisation of Uighurs and others in the resource-rich northwestern province.

The US issued the orders under the 1930 Tariff Act, which prohibits imports produced with prison or slave labour to ensure fair competition with US manufacturers and keep tainted products out of the supply chain.

Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said US businesses need to do extreme diligence when acquiring goods from overseas, especially China and other places with a history of using forced labour.

“We will not stand idly by and allow foreign companies to subject vulnerable workers to forced labour while harming American businesses that respect human rights and the rule of law,” Morgan said.

In July, the US Commerce Department had added 11 Chinese companies implicated in connection with China's treatment of its Uighurs in Xinjiang in western China to the US economic blacklist. The department said the companies were involved in using forced labour by Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups.

Uighurs are Turkic Muslims, who are an officially recognised as a minority community residing in Xinjiang region of China. The population of Uighurs is estimated at around 11 million, who have alleged that China is indulging in "Ethnic genocide" of the community in detention camps across the region.