Washington, Dec 17: The US Congress on Thursday passed a bill that requires companies to prove that goods imported from China’s Xinjiang region have not been produced using forced labour, BBC reported here on Friday.
The US has consistently accused China of genocide in its repression of the predominantly Muslim Uyghur minority there – a charge repeatedly denied by China.
However, the bill had been criticised by major companies that have been doing business in the area, including the likes of Coca-Cola, Nike and Apple.
The bill was initially not backed by the White House.
It was approved by the Senate on Thursday with the vote of every member of Congress except one.
The bill known as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, now heads to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.
