This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Thucydides411 (talk | contribs) at 16:52, 3 May 2021 (→Forced labor). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 16:52, 3 May 2021 by Thucydides411 (talk | contribs) (→Forced labor)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) | The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The Chinese province of Xinjiang is the country's leading producer of cotton. The province accounts for about one fifth of the world’s cotton production.
Overview
Xinjiang accounts for about one fifth of the world’s cotton production.
Forced labor
According to Quartz, the Xinjiang region is described as a "'cotton gulag' where prison labor is present in all steps of the cotton supply chain..."
A 2020 report from the United States government anti-Communist think tank, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, said that hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other minorities were being forced to cultivate cotton in Xinjiang.
Reactions
In reaction to the proposed Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in 2020 to impose sanctions on "any foreign person who 'knowingly engages'" and require firms to disclose their dealings with Xinjiang, the president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association said that blanket import bans on cotton or other products from Xinjiang from such legislation would "wreak havoc" on legitimate supply chains in the apparel industry because Xinjiang cotton exports are often intermingled with cotton from other countries and there is no available origin-tracing technology for cotton fibers. On September 22, 2020, the US Chamber of Commerce issued a letter stating that the act "would prove ineffective and may hinder efforts to prevent human rights abuses." Major companies with supply chain ties to Xinjiang, including Apple Inc., Nike, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company, have lobbied Congress to weaken the legislation and amend its provisions.
References
- Davidson, Helen. "Xinjiang: more than half a million forced to pick cotton, report suggests". www.theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- Bain, Marc. "Clothing made by Chinese forced labor is likely being sold in the US". Quartz. Archived from the original on 2019-12-04. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
- Sudworth, John. "China's 'tainted' cotton". www.bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- David Brunnstrom (11 March 2020). "U.S. lawmakers seek to tighten ban on forced-labor goods from China's Xinjiang". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- Lawder, David (September 17, 2020). "US ban on China's Xinjiang cotton 'would wreak havoc', leading apparel group says". Reuters. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- Neil L. Bradley (22 September 2020). "U.S. Chamber Letter on H.R. 6210, the "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act," and H.R. 6270, the "Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act of 2020"". US Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- Swanson, Ana (2020-11-29). "Nike and Coca-Cola Lobby Against Xinjiang Forced Labor Bill". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-30.