U.S. Adds 43 Chinese Companies to Blacklist, China's Commerce Ministry Strongly Objects

To enforce the 'Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act,' the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Friday (31st) added 43 Chinese companies to a blacklist, expanding the entity list by 30%. The newly added companies cover industries such as food, cotton, pharmaceuticals, metals, and lithium production.

The bill was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2021, aiming to prevent products produced under 'forced labor' conditions in Xinjiang from entering the U.S. market.

According to the South China Morning Post, this is the first expansion under the Trump administration, increasing the number of entities on the list from 144 to 187, and is the largest single addition since the bill was signed into law in 2021.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will begin banning the import of these companies' products to the U.S. starting August 3.

John Moolenaar, chairman of the U.S. Congress' 'China Committee,' said the Trump administration's action is sending a signal to China that it will not turn a blind eye to China's actions.

China's Commerce Ministry spokesperson on the 1st said that the U.S.'s relevant measures are without factual basis, continuously using the so-called 'human rights' and 'forced labor' as a pretext to unilaterally impose sanctions on Chinese companies under domestic law, which is a typical act of economic coercion. The U.S.'s measures seriously harm the legitimate rights of the relevant companies and seriously disrupt the stability of the global industrial and supply chains.

The spokesperson of China's Commerce Ministry said that it is particularly necessary to emphasize that on July 30, the heads of economic and trade affairs of China and the U.S. held a video call, and both sides had a candid, in-depth, and constructive exchange on maintaining the stability of economic and trade relations. Just one day later, the U.S. announced the malicious measures that harm China's interests, seriously deviating from the consensus of the two countries' leaders. China strongly condemns and firmly opposes this.