3 more Chinese companies added to US import ban over Uygur forced labour concerns

The US Department of Homeland Security on Friday announced it has added three more companies allegedly involved in forced labour and human rights abuses to a list of firms sanctioned under the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act.

The newly named companies - Cofco Sugar, Jingweida Technology and Xinya New Materials - are based in different regions of China, but each has been accused by the department of recruiting, transferring and exploiting persecuted minorities.

Officials from Xinjiang-based Cofco Sugar visited several homes of persecuted minorities in a village to recruit Uygurs to work at one of its plants, according to the department.

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Jingweida Technology, specialising in the manufacture of electrical converters, power supplies, capacitors and chargers for electric batteries, is alleged to have engaged in poverty alleviation programmes believed to be part of an overall forced labour strategy.

Anhui-based textile company Xinya New Materials is also said to be working "with an established government-sponsored labour transfer programme".

US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in a statement said the department had prioritised enforced of the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act since US President Joe Biden signed the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act.

"We will continue to pursue companies that ignore the law and exploit those abused in the People's Republic of China," said Mayorkas.

The Chinese embassy in Washington could not immediately be reached for comment.

The international community in recent years has voiced concern about the situation in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, where the Chinese government is accused of committing genocide and crimes against humanity targeting Uygurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups.

The alleged crimes include mass surveillance, arbitrary detention, torture, rape, sterilisation and forced labour. Amnesty International last month reported that more than 1 million people had been detained in internment camps across Xinjiang since 2017.

Following Friday's announcement, the UFLPA entity list now totals 30 companies.

Signed into law in 2021, the law prohibits the American-bound import of goods produced in Xinjiang or by companies on the entity list unless the US Customs and Border Protection commissioner can provide "clear and convincing evidence that the goods were not produced using forced labour".

In response to the alleged abuses, the US has imposed sanctions on several Chinese officials and entities as well as banned the import of certain products from Xinjiang that were determined to have been produced using forced labour.

Washington has also told businesses and importing communities of the risks posed by China-sponsored forced labour and other alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

As a result of the Uygur Forced Labour Protection Act, US Customs and Border Protection since June last year has inspected more than 6,000 shipments worth over US$2 billion.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.