Tue October, 2020, Age: 3 years
A new report from the U.S. Department of Labor ranks China as the top country of origin for goods produced through forced labor. The Department of Labor’s annual report lists the products and their countries of origin that have been traced back to forced labor and child labor. In this year’s report, a total of 17 Chinese goods made the list, including artificial flowers, Christmas decorations, clothes, shoes, fireworks, and products made with human hair. U.S. law prohibits the importation of products made through forced labor. By labeling these categories of products as tainted by forced labor, the U.S. government is indicating it will be scrutinizing supply chains for links to factories that employ unfree labor. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration weighed a wide-ranging ban on products such as cotton and tomatoes which originate from Xinjiang, but ultimately did not go through with the order.