On Thursday, US President Joe Biden signed legislation that bans imports from the Xinjiang region of China. The legislation, called the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, was constructed due to concerns about the treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority in China. Washington has previously referred to acts of the Chinese government against the ethnic minority group as genocide. The bill was passed in Congress this month after legislators were able to reach a compromise between the House and Senate versions.
All goods from Xinjiang, where there are detention camps for Uyghurs and other Muslim groups, will be considered to have been made with forced labor. Unless companies can prove otherwise, imports from the region will be banned. Some goods such as tomatoes, cotton, and polysilicon have been designated as high priority for enforcement action. China denies any sort of abuse in Xinjiang, which acts as a major cotton producer.
Read More: Biden signs bill banning goods from China’s Xinjiang over forced labor
