The European Commission on Wednesday presented a draft regulation aimed at banning European market products from the forced labor market, legislation that is likely to affect Chinese production involving the Uyghur Muslim minority in particular.
Unlike the United States, which explicitly bans imports from China’s Xinjiang region, the European ban targets all products resulting from forced labor, in whole or in part, regardless of where they are produced or grown. “Our ban will apply to products made in the EU, exports and imports,” European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said.
27.6 million people affected worldwide
Washington has prohibited the purchase of products made in Xinjiang since December 2021, unless the companies present proof that their products were not made with forced labor. In particular, the target is cotton, of which Xinjiang is one of the world’s largest producers, as well as tomatoes and polysilicon, a material used to make photovoltaic panels.
Forced labor affects some 27.6 million people worldwide, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Source: BFM TV
