US adds 43 Chinese companies to forced labor-linked list

The United States has added 43 Chinese companies to a list of entities whose products may be linked to the use of forced labor of Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

This is reported by the South China Morning Post. After the new expansion, the American list has grown by approximately 30%.

The restrictions affected enterprises operating in the food and cotton industries, as well as in the pharmaceutical, metallurgical, and lithium production sectors.

The companies were included in the list created under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. According to current rules, goods produced wholly or partly in Xinjiang or by enterprises on this list are considered to be manufactured using forced labor.

The import of such products into the US is prohibited unless the importer can provide convincing evidence that forced labor was not used in their production. The US Customs and Border Protection may detain, deny entry, or confiscate relevant shipments of goods.

The list is maintained by the interagency forced labor enforcement task force, headed by the US Department of Homeland Security.

US authorities assert that the restrictions are aimed at preventing goods made with forced labor of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities of China from entering supply chains.