A number of companies and brands have been linked to labor forced on Uighur Muslims by the Chinese government, according to multiple reports. Effective June 21, 2022, in an effort to address forced labor concerns, U.S. law will broadly prohibit imports of products from Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), along with additional companies determined to be related to supply from that region. Apple, which has saidthat it is committed to donating to organizations that challenge racial injustice and mass incarceration, is not the only company to come under scrutiny for its links to slave labor. (Photo by Anna Fifield/The Washington Post via Getty Images). Meta backs new tool for removing sexual images of minors posted online, Mark Zuckerberg says Meta now has a team building AI tools and personas, Whoops! In 2022, legal developments look to focus the attention of the business community on ethics in the supply chain and introduce new due diligence and compliance challenges. The rebuttable presumption goes into effect on June 21, 2022. The Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added five Chinese entities to the Entity List for accepting or utilizing forced labor in the implementation ofthePeoples Republic ofChinas campaign of repression against Muslimminority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region(XUAR). Apple and Amazon arent the only US-based companies with ties to Xinjiang and forced labor, either. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact, Immigration Expert Says Bidens Immigration Plans Could Provide Amnesty for Millions of People, At Princeton, a Racial Reckoning and a Free Speech Battle. This page was not helpful because the content, Strategy to Prevent the Importation of Goods Mined, Produced, or Manufactured with Forced Labor in the Peoples Republic of China, Notice on the Addition of Entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List. As always, our focus is on making sure everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and we will continue doing all we can to protect workers in our supply chain, Rosenstock added. The level of evidence remains to be clarified by CBP. The UFLPA Entity List can be found in the Strategy to Prevent the Importation of Goods Mined, Produced, or Manufactured with Forced Labor in the People's Republic of China and the Federal Register Notice on the Addition of Entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List. BuzzFeed News reported finding more than 100 detention facilities located beside factories. Build a Morning News Brief: Easy, No Clutter, Free! Apple said it looks for forced labor as part of every assessment it conducts. Companies will need to comply with the law 180 days after its December 23, 2021 enactment. Keep in mind also this is part of the problem with China, it is hard for other countries or supply chains to compete with no labor costs. Workers can be jailed for refusing to join the work programs, the report says, and those enrolled in the programs are often moved far from their homes. All importers are expected to review their supply chains thoroughly and institute reliable measures to ensure imported goods are not produced wholly or in part with convict labor, forced labor, and/or indentured labor (including forced or indentured child labor). Apple lists both . The list of 83 companies includes over 30 technology brands "directly or indirectly benefiting" from using Uighur workers a veritable who's who of consumer electronics, such as Acer,. The UK government must toughen measures to tackle modern slavery, including more penalties to compel businesses to ensure Uighur forced labour is not used in their supply chains, according to a . A lock Save Uyghur Statement on the Xinjiang Police Files and The Faces from Chinas Uyghur Detention Camp, HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP DISMAYED AT IMAMS VISIT TO CHINA, FEARING IT IS BEING USED TO FURTHER PROPAGANDA ABOUT STATE OF UYGHURS, Justice For Alls Save Uyghur Campaign Calls on Assistant Secretary Noyes to Get Uyghurs Released from Thailand, Community Alert For Uyghurs: China Relentlessly Targeting You for its Surveillance Campaign. (Photo by Anna Fifield/The Washington Post via Getty Images), Nike, Adidas, Apple, Microsoft and Samsung are among 83 multinationals that have been linked to forced labor by Uighurs in factories across China, according to a new study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). Products made with such labor will be covered by the laws rebuttable presumption, even if they are produced in other regions of China. Official websites use .gov In any future CBP enforcement action related to such merchandise, CBP will take into consideration the fact that you have been provided this notice in determining appropriate administrative remedies. This situation poses new risksreputational and legalfor companies and consumers purchasing goods from China, as products made in any part of the country, not just in Xinjiang, may have passed through the hands of forced labourers, the authors said. Crypto company Gemini is having some trouble with fraud, Some Pixel phones are crashing after playing a certain YouTube video. The laws rebuttable presumption means companies whose supply chains touch Xinjiangor utilize Xinjiang-exported laborwill have to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that their products are free of forced labor. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Abercrombie & Fitch, adidas, Amazon, BMW, Gap, H&M, Inditex, Marks & Spencer, Nike, North Face, Puma, PVH, Samsung and UNIQLO to respond; their responses are provided. 83 global companies and brands are directly or indirectly benefiting from the use of Uyghur forced laborers in these factories. We call for an immediate end to these violations and pledge to work collaboratively with governments, civil society, unions, and multilateral organizations to achieve this goal.. Withhold Release Orders and Findings List, Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, Best Practices for Applicability Reviews: Importer Responsibilities, Guidance on Executive Summaries and Sample Tables of Contents, https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA, Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). An official website of the United States government. The paper also described government incentives such as tax breaks and subsidies for Chinese companies to take Uighurs. Xinjiang workers have also been placed in factories that are part of Apples supply chains, including a plant in Guangzhou visited by Apple CEO Tim Cook in December 2017. Since the release of the ASPIs report, numerous companies and brands have released statements regarding their connections to Uyghur forced labor, with some taking direct action to end their complicity in supply chains corrupted by modern day slavery. The estimated figure is conservative and the actual figure is likely to be far higher., In factories far away from home, they typically live in segregated dormitories, undergo organised Mandarin and ideological training outside working hours, are subject to constant surveillance, and are forbidden from participating in religious observances, the report summary continued. A number of countries have also imposed sanctions on Xinjiang, with the US moving ban imports from Xinjiang altogether in December. In addition, CBP is subject to reporting requirements that likely will discourage easy granting of exceptions. Take action against global brands and companies complicit in forced labor by not buying their products. Under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which comes into effect on June 21, President Joe Biden's administration assumes anything made even partially in Xinjiang is produced with forced . The UFLPA Entity List can be found in the Strategy to Prevent the Importation of Goods Mined, Produced, or Manufactured with Forced Labor in the Peoples Republic of Chinaand the Federal Register Notice on the Addition of Entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List. He said Apple earlier this year ensured that none of its other suppliers are using Uighur labor transferred from Xinjiang. or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Activists have launched a campaign accusing firms of . Thus far, the U.S. government has deployed Withhold Release Orders (WROs), export control restrictions pursuant to the Entity List, and sanctions designations under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which have targeted several large Chinese companies including the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), as well as categories of products. Thus, investment in supply chain due diligence, compliance and contractual requirements for commercial partners may emerge as a key development in 2022. The UFLPA now would effectively apply the presumption of forced labor to all goods made in the XUAR without the need for CBP to issue WROs. The companies that broker this Uighur labor advertise that the workers are used to working in adversity, that they will stay the length of the contract. This report estimates that more than 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang to work in factories across China between 2017 and 2019, and some of them were sent directly from detention camps, a summary of the report said. An April 2021 report co-authored by Human Rights Watch and Stanford Law School details "crimes against humanity," including mass detention, forced labor, torture, and cultural and religious erasure. The latest report titled Uyghurs For Sale, from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, reveals a vast network of companies complicit in the mass detention of Uyghurs and other Turkic people. In January, the Trump administration said China was committed genocide against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang.. Six of the seven suppliers were said to participate in work programs operated by the Chinese government, The Information reports, which human rights groups describe as frequently offering cover for forced labor. On the Red Carpet at the 2022 Met Gala . As of April 2021, the following global companies and brands are profiting from their use of modern day Uyghur slavery. Most fashion brands can't promise their products aren't implicated, with concern spreading from fast-fashion and sportswear giants to major luxury groups. Please be aware that this is CBPs importer guidance, which provides transparency to CBPs operational approach, and not the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Forces Strategy, which will provide additional importer guidance, required by the UFLPA. A number of companies and brands have been linked to labor forced on Uighur Muslims by the Chinese government, according to multiple reports. Official websites use .gov Over several years, the group has been subject to a number of human rights abuses within the country, including internment camps, constant surveillance, mass sterilization, and forced labor. The 83 foreign and Chinese companies that ASPI has identified as directly or indirectly benefiting from the potentially abusive transfer programs for Uighurs include clothing brands such as Adidas, Gap, Tommy Hilfiger and Uniqlo; carmakers such as BMW, General Motors, Jaguar and Mercedes Benz; and tech giants such as Apple, Google, Huawei and Microsoft. Official websites use .gov Address: One Bowerman Drive Beaverton, OR 97005. For othersparticularly complex products with long, disparate supply chainsupgrading supply chain due diligence may require investment and management attention, as the companies may not previously have had a commercial need to track the sources of every upstream component and material. Adding to these challenges, the efforts to comply with or plan for the UFLPA may cause a number of companies to consider their policies for supply chain ethics and due diligenceissues that may tie into broader environment, social and governance (ESG) efforts. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 82 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony and Volkswagen. by Steve Miller . Best practices for compliance and supply chain due diligence still are evolving. We invited Apple, Esprit, and Fila to respond; they did not. CBP guidance for XUAR WROs, and standards like the ILO Indicators of Forced Labor can provide reference points. Zara and Uniqlo owners face investigation over profiting from alleged Uyghur forced labor in China BY Angelina Rascouet, Geraldine Amiel and Bloomberg July 2, 2021, 10:14 AM UTC Leading fashion. Many of these companiesprolifically spoke outagainst racial injustice following the death of George Floyd in May. For more information, visitwww.bis.doc.gov. / Sign up for Verge Deals to get deals on products we've tested sent to your inbox daily. Some Uighurs have allegedly been placed in these factories straight from the internment camps in Xinjiang, where experts estimate more than 1.5 million members of ethnic minorities are being held. Share this article with your friends, and let them know which companies to avoid as well. Put On The Gas. These parties can include companies outside of the XUAR. Products linked in whole or in part to these entities will be treated by CBP as having the same prohibitions as any products from the XUAR. This action targets these entities ability to access commodities, software, and technology subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), and is part of a U.S. Government-wide effort to take strong action against Chinas ongoing campaign of repression against Muslim minority groups in the XUAR. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. One such ad, claiming to be able to supply 1,000 Uighur workers aged 16 to 18 years, read: The advantages of Xinjiang workers are: semi-military style management, can withstand hardship, no loss of personnel Minimum order 100 workers!. The complexity and opacity of supply chains in China will complicate the due diligence process, as some products and materials made with forced labor in Xinjiang are repurposed in intermediary factories elsewhere in China, obscuring their origin.