US targets steel, copper, lithium imports under Uyghur forced labor law

WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Tuesday said it was targeting more imports of Chinese goods, including steel, copper and lithium, for high-priority enforcement over alleged human-rights abuses involving the Uyghurs.

The Department of Homeland Security, in a post on X, said it was also designating caustic soda and red dates for high-priority enforcement under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

"The use of slave labor is repulsive and we will hold Chinese companies accountable for abuses and eliminate threats its forced labor practices pose to our prosperity," U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said separately on X.

The Uyghur-related law restricts the import of goods tied to what the U.S. describes as China's human-rights abuses and ongoing genocide in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

U.S. authorities say Chinese authorities have established internment camps for Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups in China’s western Xinjiang region. Beijing has denied any abuses.