The US government has banned the import of Japanese Uniqlo shirts, pointing to human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Today (20th) Reuters reported that the document released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (CBP) on the 10th contained this information.
CBP confiscated Uniqlo’s men’s shirts, which entered the port of Los Angeles in January, citing allegations that they were manufactured by the Xinjiang Production Construction Company (XPCC) in China.
The XPCC has been under controversy for forcibly accepting Uighurs, a minority in China who reside in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, exploiting labor force and suppressing human rights.
In September last year, CBP issued an Indian Hold Order (WRO) banning imports of some products produced in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. If the WRO goes into effect, it is possible to detain shipments suspected of human trafficking, child labor, human rights violations, etc.In response, Uniqlo explained, “The confiscated products were made in Australia, the United States, and Brazil. It has nothing to do with the Xinjiang Uighur problem in China.”
However, CBP said, “There is a lack of production processes and production records,” adding that there is not enough evidence to prove that the product was not made by forced labor.
In response, Uniqlo’s parent company, Japan Fast Retailing, said in a statement yesterday (19th) that “the decision of the U.S. authorities is very regrettable.”
“The company has treated respect for human rights in the supply chain as a top priority under the policy not to tolerate any forced labor,” Fast Retailing said. “We used only certain aspects of the supply chain that there were no serious human rights violations such as forced labor.”
Earlier in August last year, Fast Retailing issued a statement that it had no client factory in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. However, Chairman of Past Retailing Yanai Tadashi avoided answering the question regarding Xinjiang Uygur noodles at a press conference in April, saying, “No comment.”
Meanwhile, U.S. authorities have raised questions about human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, limiting imports of cotton and other products produced in the region. Then, when brands such as Nike and H&M declared that they would not use Xinjiang products, a boycott of the brands took place in China.
