US blocks imports from 26 Chinese textile firms over suspected Uyghur forced labor

The United States has banned imports from 26 Chinese cotton traders or warehouse facilities in an effort to eliminate goods made with forced labor from Uyghur minorities. The companies are now on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, which restricts the import of goods connected to alleged abuses in China’s Xinjiang region. The US government believes that labor camps have been established in Xinjiang for Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups, a claim that Beijing denies. Many of the newly listed companies are based outside of Xinjiang but source their cotton from the region. Washington has so far restricted imports from 65 entities under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List.