WASHINGTON DC - US lawmakers are proposing a ban on imports from the Xinjiang region of northwestern China following reports of the use of forced labour by Uyghur Muslim detainees in cotton and other industries.
Representative James McGovern and Senator Marco Rubio, co-chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, have drawn up the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act which would prevent the importing of virtually all products from Xinjiang into the US.
If passed, anyone seeking to import goods, including clothing, into the US from Xinjiang would have to provide “clear and convincing” evidence to Customs Border and Protection officials that they were free of forced labour.