The Trump administration is reportedly considering a ban on cotton products from China’s Xinjiang region over the country’s alleged human rights abuses.
The prospective ban, sources told the New York Times, could include some or all of the region’s cotton exports. Such a ban would present a significant disruption to the apparel industry.
The concern is that in Xinjiang, Uighur Muslims, who have been targeted by the Chinese government, are being forced to work in cotton mills and textile factories. China has repeatedly denied abusing the Uighurs.
In July, the administration banned several clothing companies from buying U.S. products, claiming those businesses used forced labor in Xinjiang.
Relations between the United States and China have soured in recent months amid the coronavirus pandemic. The outbreak has been traced back to the city of Wuhan, and President Trump, his top officials, and supporters have insisted on calling it variants of the “Wuhan virus” or “China virus.”
Banning cotton products in the region would only be the latest in a series of escalations of that tension.
