Six United States (U.S.) government agencies have issued an updated advisory about the risks of conducting business with entities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China. The advisory updates guidance originally issued in July 2021, which warned that businesses, individuals, and others that do not exit supply chains, ventures, and/or investments connected to the XUAR could run a high risk of violating U.S. law and triggering criminal or civil enforcement actions.
The updated advisory states that, since the original guidance was issued, the Chinese government has not taken any steps to change its policies in response to mounting public concern over the contamination of international supply chains with goods produced by state-sponsored forced labour in the XUAR. Among other things, the advisory provides updated information about U.S. government actions taken in response to human rights abuses in and in connection to the XUAR, including the issuance of withhold release orders by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the addition of entities to the Department of Commerce’s Entity List, the imposition of economic sanctions by the Treasury Department, the imposition of visa restrictions by the State Department, and the addition of goods to the Department of Labor’s list of goods produced by child labour or forced labour.
The updated advisory can be found here: Xinjiang Business Advisory Addendum July 2023 (state.gov)