It is this Tuesday, June 21 that a new law against forced labor of the Uighurs (UFLPA, Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act) comes into force in the United States, to prohibit “the entry into the country of products made in Xinjiang or having links with the labor camps in this region” Chinese, explains the New York Times.

This text which “requires importers with any connection to Xinjiang to produce documentation proving that their products, and all raw materials with which they are made, are free of forced labor,” risks becoming a headache for manufacturers, “given the complexity and opacity of Chinese supply chains”, notes the American daily.

Cotton, tomatoes and solar panels

Signed into law by President Joe Biden in December 2021, the law assumes that “Any product, even partially, made in Xinjiang is made from forced labor and cannot be imported unless companies are able to supply ‘clear and convincing evidence’ on the contrary”, detailed Bloomberg.

It is not impossible that the import ban will extend to other Chinese regions, “since Xinjiang’s workers and goods circulate throughout the country.” This text replaces “a dozen existing ordinances” which prohibited the import of products from Xinjiang, “including cotton, tomatoes and solar panels”, continues the American agency.

Retaliatory measures

China, calling allegations of forced labor in Xinjiang a pure lie, protested against a text that will harm “seriously” to the relationship between the two