Tue 21 June 2022:
Imports from China’s Xinjiang region were banned in the United States as of yesterday, due to the new regulations. Firms will be required to declare that commodities produced in the region do not use forced labor in accordance with the regulations.
According to US authorities, members of the region’s minority Uyghur tribe, who are mostly Muslim, have been imprisoned and forced to work. China has consistently denied holding Uyghurs in Xinjiang internment camps.
Several products from the resource-rich region have previously been prohibited in the United States, including cotton and tomatoes. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which is set to take effect today, will extend the restrictions to all imports.
According to the US Congress, since April 2017, China has jailed over a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.
It claims that tens of thousands of inmates have worked in Xinjiang and other regions “under the cover of poverty alleviation and industrial aid programmes” for “a fraction of the minimum wage or without any remuneration.”
China “interferes with audits and traditional due diligence efforts in Xinjiang to vet commodities and supply chains, including by intimidating possible witnesses and concealing crucial information.” according to the report.
China denies using forced labor, claiming the Xinjiang camps are “re-education” centers aimed at combating terrorism.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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