Joe Biden has signed a law prohibiting the purchase of products believed to be the result of forced labor by Uyghurs in China, and the White House has already warned American companies tempted to bow to Beijing.
A new American warning to China: The United States has just banned the purchase of products believed to be the result of forced labor by Uyghurs in Xinjiang. This boycott is a world first. Washington intends to protest against the repression of this Muslim minority by Beijing.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on China to end "genocide and crimes against humanity", as Beijing immediately denounced the move. Imports of cotton, canned tomatoes and polysilicon, a material used in photovoltaic panels, will be particularly targeted. Because all three are mass produced in Xinjiang. They will simply be banned from entering the United States.
This law will further complicate matters for companies, which already face shortages on production lines, and which will find themselves in the midst of high pressure Sino-US bargaining. The first victim is electronics manufacturer Intel. His message advising his suppliers to stop sourcing from Xinjiang sparked such an outcry that he felt compelled to apologize to his Chinese partners.
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