Electronic Goods Shipments Denied Entry to US Due to Allegations of Forced Labor in China

JAKARTA - Last September, electronic products worth 74 million US dollars (Rp. 1.1 trillion), including solar panels and microchips mainly from Malaysia and Vietnam, were refused entry to the United States. The items were inspected because the components were produced from forced labor in China.

Since the United States implemented strict rules to deal with human rights violations in China's Xinjiang region in June 2022, where the majority of Uyghur Muslims live, there have been controls on more than 6,000 shipments of goods worth more than  2 billion US dollars (Rp. 31.2 trillion)  through September . That is the latest report contained in United States customs data.

Nearly half of those submissions were rejected or still awaiting approval, according to data updated in early November.

In September alone, shipments worth US$82 million (Rp. 1.2 trillion) were either rejected or held for inspection - 90% of which were electronic products - saw a spike from less than US$20 million (Rp. 312 billion) in August.

More than two-thirds of the goods rejected or detained came from Malaysia or Vietnam, which are large exporters to the United States of solar panels and semiconductors. Vietnam is also a major supplier of textiles, footwear and clothing.

Xinjiang is a major producer of cotton and polysilicon, which is used in photovoltaic panels and semiconductors.

Around US$320 million (IDR 5 trillion) worth of goods from Malaysia and Vietnam have been rejected or detained since the new rules came into force, almost three times more than China.

Although only a small fraction of trade with Washington - semiconductor exports from the two countries reached more than  730 million US dollars in August alone.

It was not immediately clear whether the company was delaying deliveries due to compliance issues.

Malaysia's Ministry of Trade and Vietnam's Ministry of Industry did not respond to requests for comment.

Industry and government experts in both countries said they were either unaware of the problem or had not heard of any concerns.

The United States has accused China of committing genocide against the Uyghurs, with human rights groups condemning its widespread use of internment camps and forced labor. China denies all allegations of abuse.

Since the enactment of the United States Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act (UFLPA), exporters have had to demonstrate that their products do not contain raw materials or components from Xinjiang.