US restricts imports from three Chinese genomics companies over Xinjiang allegations
BGI Genomics, MGI Tech and Shenzhen BGI Technology were added to a US forced labour entity list. The companies reject the allegations.
The United States added BGI Genomics, MGI Tech and Shenzhen BGI Technology to a forced labour entity list on October 28, restricting their goods from entering the US over alleged links to forced labour in China's Xinjiang region, The Hindu reported. Exporters can seek to overcome the legal presumption behind the import restrictions, according to Reuters reporting carried by The Straits Times.
How the import restrictions work
The Department of Homeland Security said the three companies had been added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List. US Customs and Border Protection is instructed to stop goods from listed companies unless exporters rebut the presumption that they were made with forced labour, Reuters reported. The measure therefore sets a barrier to entry for covered goods while leaving exporters a route to challenge it.
DHS posted the additions in the Federal Register on October 28, Reuters reported. The additions brought the list to 190 entities. Shenzhen BGI Technology is also identified as BGI Group in The Hindu's report; the other two named companies are BGI Genomics and MGI Tech.
What the US alleges and the companies dispute
DHS alleged that the companies helped collect genetic material used to track persecuted ethnic minorities, including people subjected to forced labour, The Hindu reported. According to Reuters, DHS said BGI Genomics and BGI Group conducted genetic testing in Xinjiang with government involvement, while MGI Tech supplied equipment and support for that testing. Those descriptions are the US government's allegations about the companies' roles.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the US would not let companies tied to forced labour and surveillance of persecuted minorities profit from the American market, according to The Hindu. The entity list covers entities the department identifies as working with Xinjiang's government in activities involving forced labour or members of persecuted groups from the region.
BGI and MGI denied the allegations and said they opposed all forms of forced labour, The Hindu reported. Reuters reported that BGI Group said it had not engaged in forced labour and that China's embassy in Washington rejected the allegations. China's Ministry of Commerce condemned the US action on October 29 as lacking a factual basis and called it political manipulation, according to The Hindu; it said China would take measures to protect its interests.
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Sources and context
- U.S. bans imports from Chinese genomics companies over forced labour concerns, amid alleged detention of Uyghurs and other Muslims minoritiesThe Hindu; article credited to AFP
- US bans imports from 3 Chinese genomics companies, citing ties to forced labour in XinjiangThe Straits Times, republishing Reuters reporting
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.