U.S. Lawmakers Target Canada’s Role in Forced Uyghur Labor Imports

Congressional leaders question Liberal Minister Mary Ng over Chinese contraband blocked by U.S. and rerouted through Canada

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng has found herself at the center of growing concerns from U.S. lawmakers, who are raising alarms about Canada becoming a backdoor for goods produced with forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region, according to a letter from a bipartisan group of U.S. congressional leaders.

The letter, signed by Senators Marco Rubio and Jeff Merkley, hints at consequences for Ottawa ahead of a key review of North American trade agreements.

It could also renew an uncomfortable spotlight on Minister Ng, a Toronto-area MP for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party, stemming from her controversial parliamentary vote in 2022 on issues related to Beijing’s human rights abuses against Uyghurs.

In the letter reviewed by The Bureau, dated September 18, U.S. lawmakers expressed frustration with Canada’s enforcement mechanisms, which they believe may be allowing goods tied to human rights abuses to flow into North American markets. The lawmakers cite a specific case in which solar panels, blocked by U.S. Customs under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), were rerouted through Canada before being stopped again by U.S. border officials.

The new trade law, passed in 2021, assumes that goods from China’s Xinjiang region are produced using forced labor unless proven otherwise. The legislation reflects heightened concern over China’s treatment of the Uyghur population, which the United States and other international bodies have described as genocide.

China’s abuse of Uyghurs has also become a critical issue for Canadian Parliamentarians. Ottawa’s ongoing Foreign Interference Inquiry has heard that Conservative lawmaker Michael Chong was targeted by Chinese intelligence operatives because he sponsored a motion to spotlight Beijing’s genocidal activity in Xinjiang, but Trudeau’s government failed to alert Chong that his family was being targeted.