US bans imports from Chinese companies linked to Uyghur forced labor

On Wednesday, three Chinese genomics companies were banned by the U.S., accused of collecting genetic material to track persecuted Uyghurs in East Turkestan.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) named BGI Genomics, MGI Tech and Shenzhen BGI Technology, the trio known as BGI Group, as the latest companies to be added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List.

The list exists to identify and ban companies that are found to be working with the Chinese administration in East Turkestan (Xinjiang) region “to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of Xinjiang.”

East Turkestan (Xinjiang) has been a major point of contention between China and the rest of the international community with the United Nations warning of possible crimes against humanity in the region in 2022, including the detention of more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in camps.

China has held firm to denying all accusations of human rights abuses against the Muslim Uyghurs, and said it “strongly condemns” the U.S. ban, adding that it has “no factual basis”.

“The US side continues to exploit the ‘human rights’ issue, using it as a pretext to pursue unilateral protectionism and bullying,” a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

China urged the U.S. to “immediately cease its political manipulation and smear campaigns.”

Nonetheless, the DHS says the Chinese companies “helped collect genetic material used to track persecuted ethnic minorities, including people subjected to forced labor, meaning work they could not freely refuse.”

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin added that the United States will not “let companies tied to forced labor and the surveillance of persecuted minorities profit from the American market.”