The Trump administration moved to block substantially more imports from the Xinjiang region of China, where approximately 1 million Uighur Muslims are forced to manufacture goods in “concentration camps,” according to homeland security officials.
Ken Cuccinelli, who performs the duties of Department of Homeland Security deputy secretary, told reporters in a press call Monday afternoon that Customs and Border Protection officers who screen imports at ports of entry will block items made at any of five locations in China. The Chinese government claims the sites are vocational skills and training centers or workplace facilities.
“This is not a vocational center. It is a concentration camp — a place where religious and ethnic minorities are subject to abuse and forced to work in heinous conditions with no recourse and no freedom,” said Cuccinelli. “This is modern-day slavery. President Trump has been very clear: This administration will not tolerate the egregious human rights violations that are taking place in China.”
“Illicit, inhumane, and exploitative practices of modern-day slavery will not be tolerated in the U.S. supply chain,” said acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan. “For those people and entities who traffic in these despicable practices, know that every CBP officer who reviews cargo information is looking to keep these products out of the United States economy.”
To date, in fiscal 2020, which began last October, the U.S. has imposed a dozen bans on imported goods, including eight against Chinese entities. Federal law prohibits the importation of merchandise mined, manufactured, or produced, in part or fully, by convict labor, forced child labor, and indentured labor.
The United Nations estimates 1 million Uighur Muslims have been detained in labor camps there. China is the world’s largest exporter of cotton, most of which comes from Xinjiang.
