The U.S. Senate has passed legislation to ban the import of products from China’s Xinjiang region
It’s the latest effort in Washington’s push to punish Beijing for what U.S. officials say is an ongoing genocide against Uyghurs and other Muslim groups.
China has denied previous allegations that the region’s Uyghur population has been subjected to human rights abuses.
The Uighur Forced Labour Prevention Act has been implemented to create a “rebuttable presumption” – assuming goods manufactured in Xinjiang are made with forced labour and will therefore be banned under the 1930 Tariff Act, unless otherwise certified by US authorities.
The announcement comes as Western governments harden their stance over companies operating in the north-western region of China.
Next, the bill must have to pass the House of Representatives before it can be sent to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law.
It was not immediately clear when that might take place.
