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US import ban from Xinjiang takes effect

Articles & Photo Credit Goes to UNI INDIA

Washington, June 21 (UNI) The US law banning imports from China's Xinjiang region to add pressure on Beijing's alleged use of forced labour among the Uyghurs, has came into effect from Tuesday. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act was signed into law in December last year. It was co-authored by US Senators Marco Rubio, Jeff Merkley and US Representatives Jim McGovern and Chris Smith. The lawmakers said, "The United States is sending a clear message that we will no longer remain complicit in the Chinese Communist Party’s use of slave labor and egregious crimes against humanity. "From now on, entities both inside and outside the XUAR who seek to import to the US must show that no part of their product was manufactured using slave labor. Congress stands ready to work with President Biden and his administration to ensure this historic law is fully and rigorously implemented." Till now, the government has imposed an import ban targetting certain products and companies over forced labour concerns in China. However, the latest law applies to "any goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region." Under the law, US customs authorities presume goods manufactured in Xinjiang have been made with forced labor, banning their importation unless there is "clear and convincing" evidence to the contrary, Kyodo News reported. According to the State Department, over one million Uyghurs and members of other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang are believed to have been held in internment camps, where there has been widespread forced labour. China has insisted that the the "detention camps" called by the US are actually training centres aimed to combat terrorism and religious extremism.