US Senate approves bill banning Chinese products in Xinjiang

Washington/Beijing – The United States has dealt another blow to China as it seeks to trap China’s ruling government over the issue of Uyghurs. The US Senate has unanimously approved a bill banning Xinjiang’s use of Uyghurs as labourers. Ahead of the bill, five departments, including the US State Department, issued a joint statement issuing a stern warning to the US companies operating in Xinjiang.

A few years ago, the United Nations released a report on the Uyghurs in Xinjiang. It blamed China’s ruling communist regime for persecuting 1.1 million Uyghurs. Since then, more and more countries worldwide have been openly raising their voices against the ongoing actions by China in Xinjiang. Countries such as the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada have blamed the Chinese communist regime that the atrocity against the Uyghurs is nothing but genocide. At the same time, sanctions and other measures are also being taken against China on this issue.

The US Congress has claimed that the Uyghurs in Xinjiang are being used as ‘forced labour’ and has repeatedly warned US companies. However, it has been found that US companies are still dealing with companies that exploit the Uyghur people. Taking an aggressive stance against this, the US Senate has passed a bill banning the import of all products from Xinjiang. The US House of Representatives approved a similar bill last year itself.

In the Senate, senior Republican Senator Marco Rubio introduced a bill banning imports from Xinjiang. In support of the bill, Rubio said, ‘The United States cannot turn a blind eye to the atrocities perpetrated by the Chinese communist regime. At the same time, we will not allow the big companies to use such harassment for their profits.’. The bill passed in the Senate is the second blow to China by the United States over the Xinjiang issue.

On Tuesday, the US State Department issued a special notice to US companies. It warned that if they did not stop dealing with companies in Xinjiang, it would violate the US law. The warning was issued jointly by the Department of State, Department of Finance, Department of Commerce, Department of Labour and Department of Internal Security.