Washington (Reuters) — The United States has barred imports from 26 Chinese cotton traders or warehouse facilities on Thursday as part of its effort to eliminate goods made with the forced labor of Uyghur minorities from the US supply chain.
US officials believe Chinese authorities have established labor camps for Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in China’s western Xinjiang region.
“The so-called ‘Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act’ is just an instrument of a few US politicians to disrupt stability in Xinjiang and contain China’s development,” the spokesperson said.
Washington has restricted imports from 65 entities since the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List law was passed in 2021, according to the department.
“We enthusiastically endorse DHS’s action today to nearly double the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act’s ‘Entity List’ — while recognizing that the current list remains only a fraction of the businesses complicit in forced labor,” Representative Chris Smith and Senator Jeff Merkley, chairs of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said in a statement.
Persons:
” Alejandro Mayorkas, “, Chris Smith, Jeff Merkley
Organizations:
Washington, Reuters, Uyghur, Labor, US Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security, Congressional, Commission, DHS
Locations:
United States, China’s Xinjiang, China’s, Xinjiang, Beijing, Washington, China, Asia