Washington Slaps Import Bans On Chinese Companies Using “Forced Labor” From Imprisoned Muslims

Washington has announced its latest move to punish Chinese CCP officials and mainland-based companies for enabling human rights abuses in Xinjiang, the far-western region where as many as 1 million Chinese Uighur (a Muslim minority group) have reportedly been interned in a  network of ‘forced labor camps’.

The Trump administration announced Tuesday morning that it has banned imports from three Chinese companies based in the Xinjiang region of China, retaliation for Beijing’s repression of the Uighurs.

US Customs and Border Protection on Aug. 11 issued a “withhold release order”, which is used to combat forced labor in global supply chains, against Hero Vast Group for using “convict labor and forced labor to produce the garments it manufactures.” CBP said in a statement. It issued similar orders against Lop County Meixin Hair Product Co. on June 17 and Hetian Haolin Hair Accessories Co. on May 1, according to the Tuesday announcement.

The US plans to impose similar restrictions on six more firms, targeting cotton, textiles, tomatoes, haircare products and computer parts from the area.Those should arrive by the end of this fiscal year, the CBP said (the new fiscal year for the federal government begins Oct. 1).