{"id":2014105,"date":"2023-08-28T10:45:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T14:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/states-want-chinas-shein-to-come-clean-about-slave-labor-before-it-joins-us-stock-exchange\/"},"modified":"2023-08-28T10:45:51","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T14:45:51","slug":"states-want-chinas-shein-to-come-clean-about-slave-labor-before-it-joins-us-stock-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/states-want-chinas-shein-to-come-clean-about-slave-labor-before-it-joins-us-stock-exchange\/","title":{"rendered":"States demand transparency from Shein on slave labor prior to US stock exchange listing."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fstates-want-chinas-shein-to-come-clean-about-slave-labor-before-it-joins-us-stock-exchange%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2014105&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Fast-fashion retailer dogged\u2063 by\u2064 accusations it exploits China&#8217;s Uyghur population<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure><figcaption>SHEIN\u2062 opening party activation August 25, 2023 (Photo by Anthony Devlin\/Getty Images for SHEIN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Sixteen state attorneys general call for action against Shein<\/h3>\n<p>Sixteen\u2062 state attorneys general \u200bare pressing the federal government to \u2064instate\u2063 regulations that would\u2062 force the Chinese-owned online retailer Shein to address allegations it relies on\u200b slave labor ahead of its possible inclusion on the \u2063U.S. stock exchange.<\/p>\n<p>The state officials, led \u200bby\u200c Republican \u2062Montana attorney general Austin\u2063 Knudsen, want the U.S. \u200bSecurities Exchange\u200c Commission, which regulates the U.S.\u200b stock market, to implement a\u200c rule that would \u2064mandate\u200d all foreign-owned companies submit to an independent third-party \u200dprobe into their labor practices, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/SHEIN-Letter-Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">letter<\/a> sent Thursday to the SEC \u200cand obtained by \u2062the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Shein, a $64 billion company that has\u2063 become the world\u2019s \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zalando-sues-eu-commission-over-landmark-online-content-rules\/\" title=\"Zalando takes legal action against EU Commission over significant online content regulations.\">largest online fashion retailer<\/a>, has long been dogged by accusations it relies\u200b on cheap slave \u2063labor from China\u2019s Uyghur\u200c population. Amid speculation the company is eyeing a spot on the U.S. stock exchange,\u2062 the attorneys general say the Biden administration has a responsibility to \u2064block this bid unless Shein can prove it is not \u200cusing forced labor and unsafe working conditions\u200d in its factories.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;An IPO [initial public offering] of this magnitude\u2014involving\u2064 a foreign-owned company that is facing credible \u2063concerns about its core business practices\u2014cannot move forward \u2062on self-certification alone,&#8221; write the state officials,\u2063 including those from Virginia, Louisiana, \u2062Nebraska, and Oklahoma, \u200bamong others. &#8220;Various government,\u200c watchdog, and media reports have alleged that \u2062 [Shein\u2019s] rise has been \u2018made possible by forced\u2062 labor, human rights violations, stealing other designers&#8217; work and the peddling of\u2062 clothing \u2062made \u2062with potentially hazardous materials.\u2019&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While Shein initially declined to comment on reports\u2063 alleging its materials were sourced\u200c from China\u2019s Xinjiang \u200dprovince, the site of\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/conservatives-slam-biden-bid-to-rejoin-u-n-human-rights-council\/\" title=\"Conservatives Slam Biden Bid to Rejoin U.N. Human Rights Council\">mass human rights abuses<\/a> and \u2063forced labor camps, the company has recently touted its own\u200d &#8220;third-party analyses&#8221; showing materials like cotton are not coming from\u200b this region.<\/p>\n<p>The state officials say Shein\u2019s claims cannot be \u200dtrusted \u200cand that the \u200dBiden administration needs\u200c to \u200chalt the company\u2019s IPO until\u2062 it \u200dcan prove its products are not made using Uyghur slave labor.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;American exchanges should\u200b have a zero-tolerance policy for foreign companies that seek access \u2062to our markets but refuse \u2062to follow our laws, especially when the\u200b implicated laws are meant to prevent serious human rights abuses,&#8221; the state officials write. &#8220;We\u200d believe in upholding \u2064the\u200c rule of law and protecting our economy.\u200c Lip service is not\u200d enough; in this case, the U.S.\u200d Securities and Exchange Commission must \u2018trust, but verify\u2019 \u2063that every\u2062 such \u200ccompany is complying before it receives \u2063the privilege\u2063 of being listed on \u2064an American securities \u2062exchange.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Shein has \u2062also benefitted from \u2064a loophole in \u200dAmerican trade law &#8220;that allows importers to avoid customs duties on incoming packages that are valued at less\u2062 than $800,&#8221; the attorneys general \u200cnote.<\/p>\n<p>The House \u2062Committee on\u2062 China, which \u200dis investigating Shein\u2019s business practices, \u200ddetermined earlier this \u200byear that the company\u2019s reliance on this loophole has allowed its shipments\u200c into the \u2062United States to face less scrutiny by customs officials. Because\u2063 of this, questions linger about whether Shein\u2019s products\u2062 are violating the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevent Act, a law meant to\u200c stem the flow \u200cof\u200c such Chinese products into the country.<\/p>\n<p>Shein, the state\u200d attorneys say, &#8220;refuses to engage with U.S. government officials and is instead touting a purported self-financed and managed certification \u2064process that it\u2063 claims demonstrates compliance\u200c with U.S. law.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But &#8220;such\u2063 self-certification is insufficient,&#8221; they write, when\u200d Shein \u200d&#8221;has a documented history of lying about \u200bits labor practices.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A 2021 \u200bReuters investigation showed that Shein &#8220;falsely stated on its website that conditions in the factories \u2064it uses were certified by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/states-want-chinas-shein-to-come-clean-about-slave-labor-before-it-joins-us-stock-exchange\/\" title=\"States demand transparency from Shein on slave labor prior to US stock exchange listing.\">international labor standards bodies<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Concerns over these\u200d allegations has led Shein\u2014like other Chinese companies such as \u200cTikTok\u2014to hire Washington, D.C.-based lobbyists &#8220;to whitewash its image,&#8221; according to \u200dthe state officials.<\/p>\n<p>Shein \u200ddid not respond to \u200ba request for comment but has repeatedly denied using slave \u200blabor, telling NBC News in late June that its &#8220;policy is to comply\u200b with the customs and import laws \u200bof the countries in\u2063 which\u2063 we operate.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fast-fashion retailer Shein, accused of exploiting China&#8217;s Uyghur population, faces pressure from 16 state attorneys general. They urge the government to impose regulations on the Chinese-owned online retailer, demanding action against allegations of slave labor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":2014106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2014105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2014105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2014105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2014105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2014106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2014105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2014105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2014105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}