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Bloomberg
Hong Kong apparel giant Esquel Group said it is suing the US government for what it called the “erroneous†blacklisting of a subsidiary, saying it had been “falsely implicated†in the use of forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region.
The unit, Changji Esquel Textile Co, was added to the US Commerce Department’s Entity List during former President Donald Trump’s administration. That designation prohibits American firms from doing business with listed companies without first obtaining a government license.
Esquel Group said this move was made with no “supporting evidence†and that its factories in Xinjiang, where China has been accused of widespread human rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs, do not use forced labour.
Closely-held Esquel Group is one of dozens of companies that have been ensnared by growing tensions between the US and China over issues that span trade, human rights and territorial disputes. The far western region of Xinjiang produces more than 80% of China’s cotton, and the US wants companies to stop doing business there.