New York authorities confiscated goods imported from China worth approximately $ 800,000.
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Several branches of the United States government on Wednesday warned private companies against the use of supply chains linked to forced labor camps in China’s Xinjiang province. The notice was issued shortly after U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) authorities in Newark, New Jersey, seized imported goods from China worth $ 800,000.
Xinjiang, China is where an estimated one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities face an alleged campaign of expansive repression, including forced sterilization, destruction of religious sites and massive “re-education” camps.
The shipments seized on Wednesday contained around 13 tons of hair products suspected of being made from human hair that originated in Xinjiang, indicating possible human rights abuses of forced child labor and imprisonment, according to a CBP statement. .
“The production of these goods constitutes a very serious violation of human rights, and the arrest warrant is intended to send a clear and direct message to all entities seeking to do business with the United States that unlawful and inhumane practices chains will not be tolerated in the United States supply, “said Brenda Smith, assistant executive commissioner for the CBP Bureau of Commerce.
CBP stopped shipping under a Release Hold Order (WRO) for hair products manufactured by Lop County Meixin Hair Product Co. Ltd. issued on June 17. The order instructed ports of entry across the country to stop all Meixin products based on “information that reasonably indicated that they are made with the use of prison labor”
Wednesday’s notice was jointly issued by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Treasury Department, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS ).
The notice warns private companies operating within the US to be aware of large-scale human rights abuses against Muslim minority groups, as well as “deceptive practices employed by [Chinese] government in Xinjiang. “The notice pointed to the possibility of criminal prosecution and other legal ramifications that private companies may face if they are found to be maintaining supply chains linked to human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
“CEOs should read this notice carefully and be aware of the reputational, economic and legal risks of supporting such an assault on human dignity,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Beyond Xinjiang’s labor and assets, the notice warns American companies to do business with companies that rely on forced labor in other parts of China. It also warns companies not to help build “re-education” camps or to contribute to the government’s surveillance system in the region.
Given the latest reports of a massive sterilization campaign, which the Chinese government has denied, Pompeo was asked if the United States considers the crackdown on Muslim minorities like the Uighurs to be genocide.
“The United States takes seriously our obligation to preserve human rights – the human rights of people in China,” Pompeo said, calling on allies and Muslim nations to pressure Beijing as well. “We will continue to do so. We are constantly evaluating those actions against the legal norms and standards for the world.”
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