Staff Correspondent | Published: 22:38, Jun 25,2022 | Updated: 22:39, Jun 25,2022

A file photo shows workers sewing clothes at a garment factory on the outskirts of Dhaka. — New Age photo

Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association has alerted its members to importing fabrics from China for making readymade garments as the United States has enacted a law imposing restriction on import of goods made with alleged forced labour from Uyghur in China.

The US has signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act into law on December 23, 2021.

The law required the commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection to apply a presumption that imports of all goods, wares, articles and merchandise mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Region of China or by entities identified by the US government are made with forced labour and are prohibited from entry into the United States.

The enforcement of the UFLPA and application of the rebuttable presumption to merchandise imported began on June 21, 2022.

Beijing has been accused of locking up thousands of Uyghur in re-education camps and forcefully integrating them into China’s Han majority.

Beijing has denied such charges saying that it is providing vocational training to reduce the allure of Islamist extremism following violence, according to an AFP report.

Following a meeting with two representatives from Asia Pacific Project Preparation Facility – Tim Armstrong and Reza Patwary — BGBA president KI Hossain on Thursday warned its members saying that if any buying house produces readymade garment through importing fabrics made with Uyghur cotton and ships it to the US, the whole shipment would be seized and forfeited under the law.

‘The US has put a restriction on Chinese cotton growing in Xinjiang province from Jun 21. So, I request all the buying houses, before importing any fabrics from China, please see the procedure regarding how to avoid this restriction. Otherwise, you will not be able to ship anything to the US,’ said the BGBA president in his message to the members of the association.

KI Hossain instructed his members to be cautious about sourcing fabrics from China, especially from Xinjiang province, otherwise the US restriction on China cotton would affect Bangladesh’s RMG export business negatively.

Mohammad Hatem, executive president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act adopted by the US might affect Bangladesh’s RMG export business as the prices of fabrics might increase due to the restriction on cotton produced in Xinjiang.

He said that Bangladesh imported 65 per cent of its total demand of woven fabrics and major portion of the item came from China.

Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, former vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, however, said that the US restriction on China cotton would not affect the business of Bangladesh.

He said that the US imposed the restriction on products of Xinjiang province made with forced labour but Bangladesh’s fabric importers had a huge scope for importing the products from many other provinces in China.

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Editor: Nurul Kabir , Published by the Chairman, Editorial Board ASM Shahidullah Khan on behalf of Media New Age Ltd. Hamid Plaza (4th floor), 300/5/A/1, Bir Uttam CR Datta Road, Hatirpool, Dhaka-1205. PABX: +8802-9632245-48. Fax: +8802-9632250, E-mail: [email protected]

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