US blocks shipment of Uniqlo shirts on Xinjiang concerns
Customs agency denies appeal to release goods on suspicions of forced labour involved
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Workers at a cotton textile factory in Xinjiang's Korla city last month. The US Customs and Border Protection agency said Uniqlo failed to provide enough information to prove that the men's shirts in the shipment that was blocked were not produced in part by forced labour in China's Xinjiang.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON • The US blocked a shipment of Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo's shirts in January for violating an order prohibiting imports of items suspected to be produced by forced labour from China's Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
The blockage of Uniqlo's cotton men's shirts, which happened at the Port of Los Angeles, was revealed in a US Customs and Border Protection document dated May 10 in which it denied Uniqlo's appeal to release the shirts.
Uniqlo is the main brand of Asia's largest apparel retailer Fast Retailing. The company was founded by Japan's richest man Tadashi Yanai.
The Customs document notes that Uniqlo had argued and given proof that the raw cotton used to produce the shirts did not originate from the Chinese state-owned firm.
Still, Uniqlo failed to provide enough information to establish the items were not produced in part by forced labour in China's Xinjiang region, said the agency.
"Uniqlo is disappointed by the recent decision from the US Customs and Border Protection agency," Fast Retailing said on Wednesday, adding that it had submitted paperwork showing its products met all the import requirements.
The company "has strong mechanisms in place to identify any potential violations of human and worker rights", it added in a statement. "If we find evidence of forced labour or any other human right abuses at any of our suppliers, we cease to do business with that supplier."
It is not clear if the United States has blocked other shipments from Uniqlo or other brands under the order issued in December.
The US, European Union and Britain have placed sanctions on Chinese officials and goods over alleged human rights abuses against Uighurs in Xinjiang, which the Biden administration has said amounts to genocide.
China denies any forced labour in Xinjiang, calling it the "biggest lie of the century".
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian reiterated on Wednesday that forced labour is not used in Xinjiang and accused the US of "bullying".
"Relevant businesses should stand up and oppose the unjustified US behaviour," he said in a regular press briefing.
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