US bans imports from dozens of Chinese firms over ‘forced labour’

Demonstrators representing Tibetans and Uyghurs protest during the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Leaders' Week in San Francisco, California in late 2023. Photo / Frederic J. Brown / AFP

The United States says it is banning imports from dozens of China-based companies over alleged ties to forced labour, targeting firms in the mining, textiles and solar industries.

The Department of Homeland Security said it was adding 37 entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act entity list, bringing its total to nearly 150.

The additions mean goods wholly or partially made by these firms will be restricted from entering the United States.

Through the action, “we again demonstrate our relentless fight against the cruelty of forced labour, our unwavering commitment to basic human rights, and our tireless defence of a free, fair and competitive market”, said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

The department said this was the “largest single expansion of the list”.

The entities added include companies mining and processing critical minerals from Xinjiang, where Beijing has been accused of incarcerating more than one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a network of detention facilities.

Chinese officials strongly deny these claims.

The additions also include companies growing Xinjiang cotton and manufacturing textiles for global export, alongside those producing inputs for solar modules using polysilicon made in the region.

The companies affected include Zijin Mining Group and its subsidiaries in Xinjiang, alongside Huafu Fashion and 25 of its subsidiaries.

The Department of Homeland Security said entities added have been “linked to forced labour practices”.

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act was signed into law in 2021.

– Agence France-Presse