China investigates US company for refusing to buy East Turkistan cotton

China has launched an investigation into PVH Corp., the U.S. parent company of fashion brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, for suspected discriminatory measures by refusing to purchase cotton and other products from East Turkistan (Xinjiang).

Analysts said the measure appears to be a retaliatory response by Beijing against companies complying with U.S. laws that ban the import of materials and products from East Turkistan (Xinjiang) suspected of using Uyghur forced labor.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday that PVH Corp. must provide documentation and evidence within 30 days to show it did not engage in discriminatory practices over the past three years.

Genocide

In 2021, the U.S. government declared that China’s repression of Uyghurs and other Muslims in East Turkistan (Xinjiang), including mass detentions, the sterilization of women, forced labor and cultural and religious erasure, amounted to genocide and crimes against humanity. Legislatures in several Western countries passed similar declarations.

To punish China and get it to change its policies, the United States and other countries have banned the import of products from East Turkistan (Xinjiang) produced by Uyghur labor. About 90% of China’s cotton is produced in East Turkistan (Xinjiang), most of which is exported.

Since June 2022, the U.S. government has blacklisted companies in China that make products linked to forced labor in East Turkistan (Xinjiang) under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, or UFLPA.

The law also authorizes sanctions on foreign individuals and entities found responsible for human rights abuses in the northwestern region.

More than 80 companies are now on the entity list.

This May, the U.S. Homeland Security Department added 26 Chinese textile companies to the entity list under the act, restricting them from entering the U.S. market.

The action is in apparent response to US law banning goods produced in the region, analysts say.