WASHINGTON - The United States restricted imports from three more Chinese companies on Tuesday as part of an effort to eliminate goods made with the forced labour of Uighur minorities from the US supply chain.

Xinjiang Tianmian Foundation Textile, Xinjiang Tianshan Wool Textile and Xinjiang Zhongtai Group were added to the Uighur Forced Labour Prevention Act Entity List, according to a government posting, taking the total number of entities on the list to 27.

The three companies were designated as a result of their business practices involving Uighur minorities and other persecuted groups, the US Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

“We do not tolerate companies that use forced labour, that abuse the human rights of individuals in order to make a profit,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in the statement.

The three companies were designated for working with the government of Xinjiang to recruit and transport, harbour or use the forced labour of Uighurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz or members of other persecuted groups out of the region, the US said.

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry called allegations of forced labour in Xinjiang “the lie of the century”, adding that they were aimed at discrediting China and suppressing its development.

“In essence, (the US) is undermining Xinjiang’s prosperity and stability, curbing China’s development, and destroying international trade rules and market order,” spokesman Wang Wenbin told a press briefing.

Xinjiang Tianmian Foundation Textile makes yarn and other textile products, the US statement said.

Xinjiang Zhongtai Group produces and sells polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other textile, chemical and building materials.

Xinjiang Tianshan Wool Textile sells cashmere and wool garments, among other products.

The companies are all based in Xinjiang. They all did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In 2022, Xinjiang Zhongtai Group became the first state-owned company from Xinjiang to debut on Fortune magazine’s list of top 500 companies globally, according to state news agency Xinhua.

A 2021 law, the Uighur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA), prohibits importation of goods into the US that are either produced in Xinjiang or by companies identified on its Entity List unless the importer can prove that the goods were not produced with forced labour.

US officials believe the Chinese authorities have established labour camps for Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups in China’s western Xinjiang region.

Beijing denies any abuses.

The State Department later on Tuesday updated its business advisory on the Xingjiang supply chain to call attention to China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and the evidence of widespread use of forced labour there”.

It stressed the urgency for businesses to take due diligence measures, including identifying, assessing and acting on forced labour and human rights risks for workers.

Some Uighur groups and activists have been frustrated by the pace and quality of enforcement of the UFLPA.

Senator Marco Rubio, who helped introduce the law, urged the Biden administration to add more companies to the list.

“There are potentially thousands of China-based companies and entities complicit in slave labour,” Mr Rubio said in a statement.

“The slow pace emboldens those profiting from slave labour.”

The US in August banned goods from two China-based companies that were added to the list. REUTERS