June 11 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The US Department of Homeland Security has announced sanctions against two Chinese firms for promoting forced labor in the Xinjiang region, where the Chinese authorities are committing serious abuses, among other exploitative practices, against the Uyghur minority, denounce NGOs, Washington and their allies.
These are the printing company Ninestar Corp. (together with eight subsidiaries) and the Xinjiang Zhongtai Chemical Co. Ltd., accused by the US of “working with local Xinjiang authorities to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor of this minority.
The inclusion of these two companies brings to 22 the entities punished since the entry into force last year of the corresponding law.
“This Administration is committed to eradicating forced labor from US supply chains and will do so while facilitating legitimate trade and strengthening the national economy,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said.
“Our Department will not tolerate governments abusing human rights and will continue to restrict all goods at our ports of entry that use materials or workers from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where the People’s Republic of China aggressively oppresses and exploits Uyghurs and other Muslim-majority communities,” he added.
This announcement, made on Friday, takes place before the visit to China by the US Secretary, Antony Blinken, to reduce tensions between the two powers.
This Sunday, both companies have reported that they are studying the impact of the sanctioning measure of the United States. As reported by Bloomberg, Ninestar has ensured that it complies with all applicable laws and regulations and complies with international labor protection standards, while Zhongtai Chemical anticipated that it does not expect a significant impact on its operations, since exports represented only the 6.6 percent of revenue in 2022.
