The U.S. government has added three Chinese companies suspected of involvement in the forced labor of China’s Uyghur minority to its import ban list.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), on the 12th, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the addition of shoe manufacturer Dongguan Oasis Shoes Co., Ltd., aluminum producer Xinjiang Shenhuo Coal and Electricity Co., Ltd. and Electricity, and food processor Shandong Meijia Group Co., Ltd. to the sanctions list.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that “DHS is increasing its focus on seafood, aluminum, and shoes—sectors that play an important role in Xinjiang’s economy—and ensuring goods made with forced labor are kept out of the U.S. market.”
The U.S. enacted the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in 2022, which bans the import of products produced in the Uyghur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, a Muslim minority region in China, considering them as products of forced labor. So far, dozens of Chinese companies, including textile firms, have been targeted for sanctions. The U.S. believes that China has set up camps in this region to force minority groups to labor, but China completely denies this.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., criticized the U.S. government’s actions, saying they were “nothing but an egregious lie propagated by anti-China forces and a tool for U.S. politicians to destabilize Xinjiang and contain China’s development.” He also claimed that the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act not only infringes on the human rights of the residents of the Xinjiang region but also destabilizes the international industry and supply chain and “sabotages” international trade rules.
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