Weaves ‘made from hair of China’s Xinjiang camp detainees’ seized on arrival in US
- US Customs applies one of its rare blocks on imports over suspicions that people making them face human rights abuses
- The products’ maker is the second firm based in Xinjiang to have a shipment of hair accessories blocked in the past two months
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said 13 tons (11.8 metric tonnes) of hair products worth an estimated US$800,000 were in the shipment.
For the second time this year, the CBP has slapped one of its rare detention orders on shipments of hair weaves from China, based on suspicions that people making them face human rights abuses. The orders are used to hold shipping containers at the US ports of entry until the agency can investigate.
“The production of these goods constitutes a very serious human rights violation, and the detention order is intended to send a clear and direct message to all entities seeking to do business with the United States that illicit and inhumane practices will not be tolerated in US supply chains,” said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade.
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Leaked state documents describe repressive operations at China’s detention camps in Xinjiang
Rushan Abbas, a Uygur American activist whose sister, a doctor, went missing in China almost two years ago and is believed to be locked in a detention camp, said women who use hair weaves should think about who might be making them.
