CBP Reportedly Considering Broad Ban on Cotton Goods From China's Xinjiang Region
CBP may issue a withhold release order aimed at cotton goods from the Xinjiang region of China, according to a report in The New York Times. The report follows a recent request from human rights groups for a broad ban on all cotton goods from the region (see 2009010059). The precise breadth of such an order isn't clear, the report said. There is growing administration scrutiny of the use of forced labor in the region, and other recent actions foreshadowed more enforcement on the import side (see 2008250018). Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that CBP is looking at WROs on goods from six specific companies -- “three that operate in the cotton, textile and apparel industries, one in computer parts and two in hair products.” Among the mentioned companies are the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and the Xinjiang Junggar Cotton and Linen Co., it said. CBP didn't comment.
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The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, which was among the groups that submitted the recent petition, said a Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region WRO would be good news. “The WRO is a significant development that places a spotlight on global companies sourcing in factories and using cotton from the region for their apparel products,” ICCR senior program director David Schilling said in a Sept. 8 email. “We are waiting for the CBP to clarify whether the WRO would include any product with XUAR cotton content, regardless of what country/shipper sends the final product to the US.” Schilling said he isn't sure how much CBP relied on the petition. “While the petition may have played a role in the CBP's issuance of WROs, and its timing, there are other major factors that have been driving attention and action on this egregious human rights violation,” he said.