The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has added 29 more Chinese companies to its list of exporters banned for alleged slavery, including companies that make food and metals from tomato paste to iron ore.
China's propaganda machine was predictably furious at UFLPA's actions. National government Global Times Published a paper on stroke on Monday. editor It depicts “forced labor'' as a pure fiction created by American politicians and businessmen as an excuse to treat China unfairly.
“The United States is clearly using 'human rights' as an excuse to suppress the development of Chinese companies and destabilize the Xinjiang region.” [occupied East Turkistan] and contain China's development,” enraged Liu Weidong, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
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Liu said that “decoupling” China from supply chains is not only “costly and unsustainable” for Western companies, but also “a short-sighted move that will negatively impact global economic stability and national interests in the long term.” He reiterated the Chinese Communist Party's assertion that “this is a serious action.” It's America itself. ”
China's Foreign Ministry accused US officials of “spreading false stories about Xinjiang” and “unlawfully” sanctioning Chinese companies for fictitious human rights violations. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian claimed that UFLPA would only harm Uyghurs by taking away their jobs.
On Monday, Global Times ran It is a propaganda piece aimed at convincing readers that the Uyghurs of East Turkestan have become happy and productive under China's wise, if somewhat firm, control. The article included photos of smiling Uyghurs ostensibly happy that China was forcing them to leave their homes and move to industrial and agricultural areas where they could find work.
Also on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security announced some very well-known companies that may soon be added to UFLPA's list of entities. It's Temu, a Chinese online retailer known for its low prices. DHS said it was investigating Tem for allegedly using forced labor to produce goods at very low prices.
DHS staff said of new york post Although Tem has been under investigation for quite some time, the Biden administration has been mysteriously reluctant to add him to the Entity List, according to (NYP). This reluctance may end under the second Trump administration.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a visit to the southern border as President Joe Biden looks on in Brownsville, Texas, on February 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“It's really incredible that those guys can make a dress, ship it to the other side of the world, and sell it for $8 or so. So all kinds of companies in the United States… We're going out of business. And the question becomes, how do we do that?'' said Kevin Hulbert, a former CIA agent. New York state.
“They probably do it by using very cheap cotton in their products and so on, so that's the problem. We allow them to self-certify that they do not contain any cotton from the United States,” Hulbert said.
DHS actions announced Last Wednesday, China-based companies that export steel and aspartame sweetener were added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) list for the first time.
UFLPA is a law that: took effect In January 2022, China banned the import of products that may have been contaminated by forced labor from oppressed Uyghur Muslims in occupied East Turkestan, which China calls Xinjiang. The law presumes that nearly all exports from Xinjiang are contaminated by forced labor at some point in the production chain, unless the exporting company can prove otherwise.
With the latest additions of 29; maximum number From 2022 onwards, it will be added as a one-time measure. The number of organizations on UFLPA's banned list is 107. This will likely be the outgoing Biden administration's last forced labor enforcement action.
“Today's enforcement action makes clear that the United States will not tolerate forced labor on products entering our markets,” said Robert Silvers, Under Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security, who chairs the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF). It became,” he said.
“The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is a powerful tool in the fight against forced labor, and we are making the most of it. We want companies to be responsible, know their supply chains and act ethically. I urge you to do so,” Silvers said Wednesday.
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23 out of 29 new additions are agricultural companies, and others mine or process minerals such as copper, lithium, beryllium, nickel, manganese, and gold. The solar power and textile industries were among the first to be significantly affected by UFLPA, but recently the U.S. government look closely Chinese metal and seafood products.
Critics of the Biden administration say enforcement is too lax, but under President-elect Donald Trump and his backer and Secretary of State nominee Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), enforcement has been even more severe. I expect it to be active. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Law.
rubio sent a letter On October 31, he complained to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that the Biden administration was not using the tools provided by UFLPA aggressively enough against certain Chinese pharmaceutical companies.
“The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act ensures that the products Americans purchase are made without the use of slave labor. A lack of oversight by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) makes this true. Clearly not,” Rubio wrote.
“FDA and DHS have a responsibility to correct this dangerous mistake and uphold the law,” Rubio told Mayorkas.
