Dec 8, 2023
By Uyghur Times Staff
As reported by Reuters, the U.S. government announced on Friday that it has restricted imports from three additional Chinese companies, including COFCO Sugar Holding, citing forced labor practices involving Uyghurs and other minorities in China.
The companies involved in the production of sugar, network transformers, and yarn are now added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, which limits the import of goods linked to what the U.S. characterizes as an ongoing genocide of minorities in China’s Xinjiang region (where Uyghurs refer to as Uyghurstan or East Turkistan).
The inclusion of COFCO Sugar Holding (600737.SS), Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group, and Anhui Xinya New Materials brings the total number of listed companies to 30.
Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu dismissed the action as “based on lies,” accusing the U.S. of undermining “Xinjiang’s prosperity and stability.”. Since June 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reviewed over 6,000 shipments valued at more than $2 billion under the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act. The act denies entry to goods from listed companies unless they prove no ties to forced labor.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas stated, “The Department of Homeland Security remains committed to eradicating the use of forced labor and holding organizations accountable for their human rights abuses.”
The U.S. believes that the three companies on the list collaborated with government programs transferring persecuted minorities to work at their facilities. COFCO Sugar, a major sugar trader in China; Jingweida Technology in Sichuan Province produces transformers, network and radio frequency filters, and other devices; and Anhui Xinya New Materials produces fiber yarns and other textiles.
