By Karen Freifeld
WASHINGTON, Oct 28 (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday banned imports from three Chinese genomics companies over their alleged roles in enabling the forced labor of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China’s Xinjiang region.
BGI Genomics Co. Ltd, MGI Tech Co Ltd and Shenzhen BGI Technology Co Ltd, which the US says is also known as the BGI Group, were added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The list identifies entities that use or facilitate the use of forced labor of Uyghurs and other minorities, or source material from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
US Customs and Border Protection is instructed to stop goods from companies on the list from entering the US unless exporters can rebut the presumption they were made with forced labor.
The US and human rights groups have accused Chinese authorities of establishing internment camps in Xinjiang, where Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups are subject to forced labor and other abuses. Beijing has denied the allegations.
BGI Group and BGI Genomics conduct genetic testing in the region, working with the government to facilitate the recruitment, transport, transfer or receiving of forced labor, the Homeland Security Department said. MGI Tech provides equipment and related support to the government to conduct the testing, the department said.
The US government believes BGI Group tests genetic material of people from the region as well as that of plants and animals.
Shenzhen-based MGI Tech rejected the allegations, saying they are inconsistent with the facts. It added that business activities in the US represent a limited part of its overall business.
“We have zero tolerance for forced labor in any form,” the company said in a statement.
Neither BGI Genomics nor BGI Group immediately responded to requests for comment. In the past, BGI Group has denied assertions that it participated in the collection, storage or analysis of personal genetic information to infringe on human rights. It also has denied supporting the surveillance of minorities.
The Chinese embassy in Washington also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
BAN COMES DURING US-CHINA TRADE TRUCE
The US imposed the ban during a fragile trade truce between China and the United States.
China banned imports of sequencing equipment from San Diego-based Illumina in March 2025, minutes after an additional 10% US tariff on Chinese goods took effect. Illumina said in November 2025 that China’s Ministry of Commerce said it would lift the ban, but that the company would remain on China’s Unreliable Entities List, meaning purchases of its instruments would still require government approval.
Homeland Security, which oversees the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, on Wednesday posted the additions on the Federal Register, the US government’s official daily journal. With the addition of the three genomics companies, 190 entities are now listed. Goods affected include everything from cotton and canned tomatoes to electronics.
(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Chris Sanders and Doina Chiacu)
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