Image: Reuters Berita 24 English -A US Customs official said on Wednesday that when a law requiring it takes effect later this month, US off...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English -A US Customs official said on Wednesday that when a law requiring it takes effect later this month, US officials are ready to apply a ban on imports from China's Xinjiang region, adding that an exemption would require a "very high" level of evidence.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) was signed into law by US President Joe Biden in December in an effort to protect the US market from items tainted by human rights abuses in Xinjiang, where the US government claims China is conducting genocide against Uyghur Muslims.
The rule includes a "rebuttable assumption" that all items from Xinjiang, where Chinese authorities have set up detention camps for Uyghurs and other Muslim populations, are created using forced labor, and prohibits their import unless this is proven.
China claims the law "slanders" the country's human rights condition in Xinjiang, a major cotton grower that also produces much of the world's solar panel materials.
Some senators in the United States have backed proposals by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for greater funding to fully administer the rule, which takes effect on June 21.
Elva Muneton, CBP's acting executive director for the UFLPA Implementation Task Force, said, "We're all on a very tight schedule."
"We anticipate to be ready to implement the Uyghur Act on June 21, and we expect to have the resources," Muneton said during a webcast on executing the law. "So, are we ready to put this plan into action? We are, indeed "she stated
Importers will be able to return prohibited cargo to its nation of origin, and any exceptions to the presumption must be allowed by the CBP commissioner and reported to Congress, according to Muneton.
"It's critical to understand that the Uyghur act will demand a very high degree of evidence," she said.
"It will be necessary to provide paperwork, clear and convincing evidence that the supply chain of the imported product is free of forced labor."
In the event of fraud, CBP will be able to impose sanctions on importers, she said.
Beijing first denied the existence of any detention camps, but later admitted to establishing "vocational training facilities" in Xinjiang to combat terrorism, separatism, and religious radicalism, according to Beijing.
