US Adds More Chinese Companies to Uyghur Forced Labor Ban List

Last updated on October 7th, 2024 at 05:46 am

United States has stepped up the attempts to eradicate forced labor by blacklisting five more Chinese firms, as ANI reported. These companies are said to exploit Uyghur workers in forced labor in what China terms as ‘ poverty reduction schemes’. DHS has included these five China-based firms in the UFLPA Entity List, taking the list’s banned companies figure to 73.

Companies Affected by New Ban

Among the newly banned companies are two Hong Kong-based firms: Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group Holdings, and, Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group Holdings’ parent company; Century Sunshine Group Holdings. Both are alleged to have been using contaminated raw materials from the Xinjiang region in China. Furthermore, three mainland firms Kashgar Construction Engineering (Group) Co Ltd, Xinjiang Habahe Ashele Copper Co Ltd, and Xinjiang Tengxiang Magnesium Products Co Ltd are specifically mentioned as using forced Uyghur labor.

Implementation and Scope

Beginning August 9, 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will assume that products made by these companies will be banned from being imported into the United States unless the companies can prove otherwise. This ban is done within the context of banning other products made through forced labor from the supply chain in America. The UFLPA, passed into law in December 2021, applies to firms in various industries such as garments, agriculture, silicon, electronics, foods, chemicals, and home appliances.

Official Stance and Reactions

The DHS Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas stressed that the Department remains focused on the issue of forced labor use and the actions against such companies. Washington has claimed that Beijing has been perpetrating “genocide” against Uyghur and other Muslims in far-west Xinjiang since 2021; Beijing accused of forcibly sterilizing women and detaining Uyghur minorities in extrajudicial high-security detention centers.

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Support from Advocacy Groups

The Washington-based Campaign for Uyghurs has welcomed the U.S. move to widen the UFLPA entity list. The Executive Director of the organization, Rushan Abbas, said that the Uyghur genocide has become good for big business. The only way to stop this tragedy is to make the entire global community – businesses, nations, and organizations – come together to impose meaningful, meaningful punishments for what Abbas calls the Chinese Communist Party’s cruel actions.

Chinese Please for Explanations

Chinese views are quite distinct from that of the United States. According to Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, all the accusations made by the United States are baseless. Chinese political commentator Wang Yi said that the employment of human rights as a reason to slow the growth of Chinese companies is just another American political game.