March 28, 2024

Trade dispute: The USA appears to be increasing pressure on China again - imports from Xinjiang must be restricted

Trade dispute: The USA appears to be increasing pressure on China again – imports from Xinjiang must be restricted

It seems that US President Joe Biden is angry about something behind the scenes. For no apparent reason, he continued to tighten his grip on the US-China trade dispute. As the Financial Times reported this week, the US “blacklist” of Chinese companies is expanding, and some products from Xinjiang may now be subject to an import ban. So far, there has been an import ban only on polysilicon from the Chinese region.

The United States wants to restrict imports of products from China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region that the United States believes were made with the help of forced labor. According to the US House of Representatives, on Thursday (local time) the Senate also passed a bill providing for the future import of these goods into the United States. Imports from the region should generally be prohibited unless it can be demonstrated that the product was created without the use of forced labour. The government will elaborate details on implementation.

US President Joe Biden must sign the bill for it to take effect. The White House has previously pledged to support the plans, saying the government shares the view that China must be held accountable for human rights abuses and genocide, and that forced labor in Xinjiang must be combated.

In the past few months, the US government has blacklisted several companies in China, among other things, for allegedly suppressing the Muslim Uyghur minority and has banned the import of some solar components from Xinjiang because, according to Washington, they were manufactured using slave labor. will. The United States also imposed sanctions on several biotechnology facilities in China on Thursday.

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Experts and human rights organizations estimate that up to one million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Hui or other members of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang have been sent to re-education camps. The Chinese government accuses Uyghur groups of separatism and terrorism. Critics speak of re-education camps in which Uyghurs are drawn into the ranks of the Communist Party, sometimes with brutal means. Minorities were also reported to perform forced labour. China rejects the allegations, calling them “lies”.

onvista/dpa-AFX response

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