Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The trade war between the United States (US) and China, seems to be entering a new episode. Joe Biden’s government yesterday officially signed a new law banning imports of goods from China’s Xinjiang.
This is related to the issue of human rights violations committed by China to Muslim minority groups in the province, one of which is the Uighurs. Not only import bans, the US has also imposed sanctions on what they call “forced labor” in the region.
This law was previously discussed in the US Senate after being passed in the US House of Representatives. Uncle Sam adheres to a two-chamber system, whose legislature consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
China itself has not commented on this.
Previously, the US Department of State, Department of Commerce, Homeland Security and Labor and the Office of the US Trade Representative had issued warnings to companies with direct or indirect ties to China in Xinjiang. Where Xinjiang-related businesses are at high risk of violating US law.
This has also led a number of companies to issue regulations prohibiting their supply from being sourced from Xinjiang. Intel, the US chipmaker, is one of them.
“Ensuring that its supply chain does not use labor or sources of goods or services from the Xinjiang region,” reads the company circular.
The letter sparked a backlash in China, where Intel employs about 10,000 people. Yesterday the company released a statement apologizing to China and said the decision to avoid supplies from Xinjiang was necessary to comply with US law and not human rights.
While the White House through Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that American companies should never feel the need to apologize to China. Because what they are defending is human rights and oppression.
“We call on all industries to ensure that they do not seek products that involve forced labour, including forced labor from Xinjiang,” he added.
The Biden administration also imposed new trade restrictions and sanctions on 34 Chinese entities. This was met by the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, rejecting the US claims as completely unfounded.
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