The U.S. will bar entry of all cotton products and tomatoes from China’s Xinjiang region, where it says Beijing is oppressing Muslim-minority Uighurs. The ban is the latest in a series of actions where the U.S. is raising pressure on China over some companies’ alleged ill-treatment of workers.
According to CBP, the goods to be detained at U.S. ports of entry in the so-called withhold-release order, or WRO, following the investigation include apparel, textiles, tomato seeds, canned tomatoes, and tomato sauce.
The action is a blow for the U.S. clothing industry, given that one-fifth of the world’s cotton comes from the region. Additionally, Xinjiang is China—and Asia’s—largest tomato production and processing region, generating about 70% of the country’s total shipments of the commodity.