US urged to block solar products from China's Xinjiang due to forced labor

The largest US labor federation is calling for a ban on solar products importation from China’s Xinjiang region over human rights concerns.

The leader of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka, had written Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan about “convincing evidence of systematic forced labor” in solar production in Xinjiang.

The federation demanded “immediate focused action" on the Biden administration and Congress by stopping imports.

The AFL-CIO was a key supporter of President Joe Biden in the November election.

The Biden administration has endorsed a Trump administration finding that China has committed genocide against Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang and has said the US must be prepared to impose costs on China.