Uyghur Advocacy Group Says Xinjiang Dates Being Imported
The Uyghur Human Rights Project, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, is asking shoppers at Asian and international supermarkets to watch out for red dates coming from Xinjiang, and to report the presence of those goods to CBP, as they violate the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
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In an Aug. 28 report, the group documented how international grocers in Maryland and Northern Virginia, including LA Mart, Lotte Plaza Market and H Mart, stock red dates, also called jujubes, with "Xinjiang," "Bingtuan" or the names of cities in the Uyghur region on the packaging. Bingtuan is another name for the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, whose cotton was first subjected to a withhold release order in 2020.
CBP already classifies Bingtuan/XPCC as a banned entity under the UFLPA.
"Ten percent of the world’s red dates are directly tied to the XPCC and forced labor practices," the report alleges, as well as 25% of Chinese red date production. It says that according to U.S. trade data, 64 shipments of red dates have come from China since XPCC was sanctioned in 2020 under the Magnitsky Act, which bars any financial transactions with XPCC.
The Uyghur Human Rights Project visited grocery stores in February and August this year, and found 70 brands of red dates grown or processed in Xinjiang, and said three had "Bingtuan" on their labels. A picture of bags of red dates on shelves also shows one that says "Xinjiang Hetian Jujube" in English.
"Cotton is frequently intercropped with fruit, including red dates. In 2019, red dates accounted for 80% of fruit intercropped with cotton. Because cotton production is well documented as being at high risk of forced labor practices, fruit and fruit products, including red dates, should be considered at the same risk for forced labor as cotton," the report said.
The group is asking the Department of Homeland Security to add red date brands from Xinjiang to the UFLPA forced labor entity list, and to impose civil and criminal penalties for violations of the Magnitsky sanctions on XPCC.
They also suggest consumers report the red date products they see for sale that have Xinjiang or Bingtuan in the title, one of these Uyghur cities on the packaging -- Kashgar, Aksu, Hotan, Qumul, and Turpan -- or are Chinese but have pictures of mosques or camels on the packages.
A CBP spokesman said, "CBP does not comment on specific allegations or cases. CBP receives numerous allegations of forced labor from a variety of sources, including government partners, reports by non-government organizations, media coverage, firsthand accounts, and the general public. We will continue to use the resources at our disposal to evaluate these allegations and to identify and prevent goods made with forced labor from entering the U.S. commerce."