US adds three Chinese companies to forced labor entity list involving Uyghurs

PHOTO CAPTION: Representational photo — Activists take part in a protest against China's treatment towards the ethnic Uyghur people and calling for a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, at a park Jakarta, Indonesia, 4 January, 2022 (REUTERS)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States has added three Chinese companies to the forced labor entity list involving Uyghurs, according to a government posting on Tuesday, as part of an effort to eliminate forced labor practices the U.S. supply chain.

The action targets Xinjiang Tianmian Foundation Textile Co, Ltd; Xinjiang Tianshan Wool Textile Co. Ltd, and Xinjiang Zhongtai Group Co. Ltd, according to the post.

A 2021 law, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List (UFLPA), prohibits U.S. imports that are either produced in Xinjiang or by companies identified on the list, unless the importer can prove the goods were not produced with forced labor.

The list identifies entities working with the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to recruit and transport Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of the region.

U.S. officials believe Chinese authorities have established labor camps for Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang, China. Beijing denies any abuses.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Karen Freifeld; Editing by Susan Heavey)