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U.S. bans imports of cotton, other products from Xinjiang made with forced labor

14 September 2020
Dan Ackermann

U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a series of orders on Monday barring imports of cotton, apparel, hair products, computer parts and other goods from China's Xinjiang region due to the government's "illicit, inhumane, and exploitative practices of forced labor."

Why it matters: The Trump administration is taking an increasingly aggressive approach to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, where the Chinese government is engaged in a sweeping campaign of demographic and cultural genocide against Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities.

Details: The CBP orders apply to the following imports ...

  1. All products made with labor from the Lop County No. 4 Vocational Skills Education and Training Center in Xinjiang
  2. Hair products made in the Lop County Hair Product Industrial Park in Xinjiang
  3. Apparel produced by Yili Zhuowan Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and Baoding LYSZD Trade and Business Co., Ltd in Xinjiang
  4. Cotton produced and processed by Xinjiang Junggar Cotton and Linen Co., Ltd. in Xinjiang
  5. Computer parts made by Hefei Bitland Information Technology Co., Ltd. in Anhui

What they're saying: "The Trump administration will not stand idly by and allow foreign companies to subject vulnerable workers to forced labor while harming American businesses that respect human rights and the rule of law,” Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said in a statement.

  • “Today’s Withhold Release Orders send a clear message to the international community that we will not tolerate the illicit, inhumane, and exploitative practices of forced labor in U.S. supply chains.”

The big picture: President Trump told Axios in June that he previously held off on sanctioning officials and entities involved in the detention camps because doing so would have interfered with his trade deal with Beijing.

  • In July, the U.S. sanctioned Chinese Communist Party officials, the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) for their role in constructing and operating massive "re-education" camps, where over 1 million Uighurs have been detained.
  • The XPCC, a paramilitary organization, is involved in the production of one-third of China's cotton, and in 2014, XPCC-controlled interests comprised 17% of Xinjiang's economy.

Go deeper: U.S. seizes $800,000 shipment of Xinjiang products made with human hair

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.