OREANDA-NEWS. The US authorities may impose a ban on the import of cotton products from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in northwest China in connection with the alleged violation of human rights there. This was reported by The New York Times.

According to sources of the newspaper, the ban may be introduced by the US Customs and Border Protection Service on Tuesday. However, the question remains how widely it can spread. Some sources claim that the ban will cover cotton products imported into the United States exclusively from the XUAR or from China in general. At the same time, other sources believe that restrictions may also affect foreign clothing manufacturers using materials and products from the XUAR.

In early August, China called on the United States to lift the imposition of sanctions against one Chinese enterprise and two members of its management for human rights violations in the XUAR. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin noted that otherwise Beijing will take tough retaliatory measures. According to him, what is happening in Xinjiang is an “internal affair of China.”