US Customs and Border Protection officials have prepared orders to block imports of cotton and tomato products from China’s Xinjiang region over allegations that they are produced with forced labor, although a formal announcement has been delayed.
The announcement of the actions by the administration of US President Donald Trump, initially expected on Tuesday, has been put off until later this week because of “scheduling issues,” a customs spokesman said.
The “withhold release orders” allow the customs to detain shipments based on suspicion of forced-labor involvement under long-standing US laws aimed at combating human trafficking, child labor and other human rights abuses.
The Trump administration is ratcheting up pressure on China over its treatment of Xinjiang’s Uighur Muslims. The UN has said it has credible reports that 1 million Muslims have been detained in camps in the region, where they are put to work.
China denies mistreatment of the Uighurs and says the camps are vocational training centers needed to fight extremism.
US Customs and Border Protection Executive Assistant Commissioner Brenda Smith told reporters that the effective import bans would apply to the entire supply chains involving cotton — including cotton yarn, textiles and apparel — as well as tomatoes, tomato paste and other products exported from the region.
“We have reasonable, but not conclusive evidence that there is a risk of forced labor in supply chains related to cotton textiles and tomatoes coming out of Xinjiang,” Smith said in an interview. “We will continue to work our investigations to fill in those gaps.”
US law requires the agency to detain shipments when there is an allegation of forced labor, such as from non-governmental organizations, she said.
The bans could have far-reaching effects for US retailers and apparel producers, as well as food manufacturers.
China produces about 20 percent of the world’s cotton and most of it comes from Xinjiang. China also is the world’s largest importer of cotton, including from the US.
The China Cotton Association, a trade body, declined to comment.
A Beijing-based cotton trader said the effect might be limited, as China imports about 2 million tonnes of cotton and 2 million tonnes of cotton yarn each year, which might be sufficient to produce textiles for the US.
Xinjiang’s output is about 5 million tonnes.
“If Xinjiang cotton goes to the domestic industry and non-Western markets, the impact may be limited, it can probably still be digested,” he said.
In the short-term, it could also boost cotton imports into China, he added.
In March, US lawmakers proposed legislation that would effectively assume that all goods produced in Xinjiang are made with forced labor and would require certification that they are not.
In July, Washington issued an advisory saying that companies doing business in Xinjiang or with entities using Xinjiang labor could be exposed to “reputational, economic and legal risks.”
The US Department of State also said that it sent a letter to top US companies, including Walmart, Apple and Amazon.com, warning them over risks faced from maintaining supply chains associated with human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
In a draft announcement seen by reporters, the customs said it identified forced-labor indicators involving the cotton, textile and tomato supply chains “including debt bondage, unfree movement, isolation, intimidation and threats, withholding of wages, and abusive working and living conditions.”
The agency’s orders would block cotton produced by the Xinjiang Production and Construction, and apparel produced by Yili Zhuowan Garment Manufacturing and Baoding LYSZD Trade and Business.
It says those entities use prison labor from Chinese government-administered “re-education” internment camps.
In addition, the proposed orders would block imports of products made at the Lop County Industrial Park as well as the Lop County No. 4 Vocational Skills Education and Training Center.
The moves follow the detention on July 1 of hair extensions and other goods from Lop County Meixin Hair Product.
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