The Washington administration took a new step to increase economic pressure on Beijing. On Friday, July 31, the US added 43 more Chinese companies to its import blacklist, citing allegations that Uyghur Turks and other minorities are subjected to forced labor in China's Xinjiang region.
This decision marked the first expansion of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which entered into force under President Donald Trump. It was also the single largest addition since the law took effect in December 2021.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, "Today, the US added 43 China-based companies to the list under the UFLPA. This law is a key tool designed to prevent goods made with forced labor from entering the US and to ensure a level playing field for American companies."
Pigott stressed that the law aims to prevent products produced through the forced labor of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China from reaching the US market and to hold entities involved in such practices accountable.
Among the blacklisted firms is Hunan Aihua Group, one of China's leading capacitor manufacturers. The companies added operate in a wide range of sectors, notably pharmaceuticals, metallurgy, cotton, food, and lithium production.
With the latest decision, the total number of entities on the UFLPA list rose from 144 to 187. The US has long accused China of operating forced labor camps targeting Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Beijing has repeatedly denied the allegations and rejects claims of human rights abuses in the region.
