Blacklisted Chinese Companies Reach 100

The US has imposed import bans on approximately 30 Chinese companies in the food and metal sectors due to their links to forced labor of Uyghurs. This brings the number of Chinese companies subject to import bans related to Uyghurs to more than 100.
According to an announcement by the US government on November 22, 2024, the US has banned imports of food, metal, and other products from approximately 30 Chinese companies due to their links to forced labor of Uyghurs.
The announcement, published in the Official Gazette, stated that the new restrictions, which cover a range of products from tomato paste and walnuts to gold and iron ore, are part of the federal government’s efforts to prevent goods manufactured using forced labor from entering the US.
The companies were added to the blacklist under the US’s Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which restricts imports of goods linked to China’s human rights abuses and the ongoing genocide and forced labor in the XUAR.
US officials say Chinese authorities have allegedly set up internment camps for Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic groups in the so-called “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region” (in East Turkistan).
The latest additions bring the total number of companies on the list to more than 100 since the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act was enacted in December 2021.
Twenty-three of the newly added companies are in the agricultural sector. The others extract and process metals such as copper, lithium, beryllium, nickel, manganese, and gold.
“Today’s sanctions make it clear that the United States will not tolerate forced labor in goods entering our markets,” said Robert Silvers, undersecretary for policy at the US Department of Homeland Security, in a statement. “We call on companies to take responsibility, recognize their supply chains, and act ethically,” he said.
SLAVE LABOR UNDER THE EXCUSE OF GAINING VOCATIONAL SKILLS
On the other hand, although the Chinese administration claims that these programs, which are claimed to provide professional skills to Uyghurs, are voluntary, the US and other countries state that this process is actually working in slavery-like conditions. In 2021, the US recognized China’s policies towards Uyghurs as “genocide.”
However, according to a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), Uyghur Muslims are used as slave labor in supplying goods to more than 100 countries and 83 famous brands.