By Karen Freifeld
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has banned imports from another tranche of Chinese companies over alleged human-rights abuses involving the Uyghurs, targeting 37 textile, mining and solar companies, the Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday.
The companies include Huafu Fashion Co., one of the world’s largest textile manufacturers, and 25 of its subsidiaries, which the U.S. has linked to forced-labor practices in China’s cotton industry.
The companies were added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, which restricts the import of goods tied to what the U.S. describes as China’s human-rights abuses and ongoing genocide in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
U.S. authorities say Chinese authorities have established internment camps for Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups in China’s western Xinjiang region. Beijing has denied any abuses.
The newly listed companies also include Donghai JA Solar Technology Co, which develops solar-energy products with polysilicon made in Xinjiang, and Hongyuan Green Energy Co, which sources polysilicon from the region, according to the U.S.
Zijin Group Co and three of its subsidiaries, which source and extract zinc, and other metals from the region, are among the mining companies.
The latest additions bring the total number of companies on the list to 144 since the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act was signed into law in December 2021.
The companies could not immediately be reached for comment.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
