U.S. Blocked Uniqlo Shirts on Xinjiang Forced-Labor Concerns
- Customs agency prohibited Uniqlo shipment in January
- Rejected Uniqlo’s protest in first documented seizure
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The U.S. customs agency blocked a shipment of Fast Retailing Co.’s Uniqlo shirts in January for violating an order prohibiting imports of items suspected to be produced by forced labor from China’s state-owned Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
The blockage of Uniqlo’s cotton men’s shirts, which happened at the Port of Los Angeles, was revealed in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection document dated May 10 in which the agency denied an appeal by Uniqlo to release the shirts. Shares in the Japanese apparel maker fell as much as 2.6% in early Tokyo trading Thursday.