CBP Conducting More Slave Labor Probes in West China than Anywhere Else on Earth

An officer from the Customs and Border Protection, Trade and Cargo Division works with a d
JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images

The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency has confirmed it is conducting more investigations into forced slave labor in the Xinjiang, China, region than in any other area of the world.

Most recently, CBP agents in Newark, New Jersey, seized more than $800,000 worth of Lop County Meixin Hair Product hair extensions imported from Xinjiang and suspected of being manufactured by forced slave labor.

A CBP official confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the suspected widespread use of forced slave labor in Xinjiang — where an estimated two million Uyghur Muslims are interned in about 1,300 concentration camps — has warranted more investigations than any other region of the world:

U.S. officials halted the shipment from Lop County Meixin Hair Product Co. last week after months of investigating both the manufacturer and the region where it operates, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of the agency’s Office of Trade. She said the Xinjiang region in northwestern China has become Customs and Border Protection’s most active area in the world for forced-labor investigations. [Emphasis added]

Last month, an Axios report named Caterpillar as one of the latest U.S. corporations revealed to be allegedly working with a China-based supplier involved in Uyghur Muslim forced slave labor.

Following pressure from human rights groups over forced slave labor abuses in Xinjiang, reports indicate Chinese officials have started sending Uyghur Muslims to other provinces.

Research released in June by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) named a total of 83 companies “directly or indirectly benefiting from the use of Uyghur workers outside Xinjiang through potentially abusive labor transfer programs as recently as 2019.”

Those companies include:

  • Abercrombie & Fitch
  • Acer
  • Adidas
  • Alstom
  • Amazon
  • Apple
  • ASUS
  • BAIC Motor
  • BMW
  • Bombardier
  • Bosch
  • BYD
  • Calvin Klein
  • Candy
  • Carter’s
  • Cerruti 1881
  • Changan Automobile
  • Cisco
  • CRRC
  • Dell
  • Electrolux
  • Fila
  • Founder Group
  • GAC Group
  • Gap
  • Geely Auto
  • General Motors
  • Google
  • Goertek
  • H&M
  • Haier
  • Hart Schaffner Marx
  • Hisense
  • Hitachi
  • HP
  • HTC
  • Huawei
  • iFlyTek
  • Jack & Jones
  • Jaguar
  • Japan Display Inc.
  • L.L.Bean
  • Lacoste
  • Land Rover
  • Lenovo
  • LG
  • Li-Ning
  • Mayor
  • Meizu
  • Mercedes-Benz
  • MG
  • Microsoft
  • Mitsubishi
  • Mitsumi
  • Nike
  • Nintendo
  • Nokia
  • The North Face
  • Oculus
  • Oppo
  • Panasonic
  • Polo Ralph Lauren
  • Puma
  • Roewe
  • SAIC Motor
  • Samsung
  • SGMW
  • Sharp
  • Siemens
  • Skechers
  • Sony
  • TDK
  • Tommy Hilfiger
  • Toshiba
  • Tsinghua Tongfang
  • Uniqlo
  • Victoria’s Secret
  • Vivo
  • Volkswagen
  • Xiaomi
  • Zara
  • Zegna
  • ZTE

Only Adidas and Lacoste have stated they will “cease all activity with suppliers and subcontractors” named in the ASPI report as being involved in forced Chinese slave labor.

Despite the backlash, China has reportedly increased its use of forced slave labor. U.S. free trade with China since the 1990s has gutted at least 3.4 million American manufacturing jobs — not including the millions of American jobs lost in supporting industries.

American manufacturing is vital to the U.S. economy, as every one manufacturing job supports an additional 7.4 American jobs in other industries.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.

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