U.S. Blocks BGI Shipments Over Alleged Xinjiang Forced Labor

By Olivia Hart

Starting Thursday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will bar shipments from BGI Group, BGI Genomics and MGI Tech, the Trump administration said Wednesday.

The Department of Homeland Security accused the three companies of sourcing materials from Xinjiang or working with its regional government to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor involving persecuted ethnic groups, including Uyghurs. BGI Group is a major biotech company known for its genetic sequencing technologies.

What has the U.S. alleged?

DHS cited corporate and government reporting as credible evidence that BGI Group, BGI Genomics and MGI Tech supported genetic testing in Xinjiang. The department said collecting and analyzing genetic material facilitates Beijing’s monitoring, surveillance and repression of ethnic minorities, including through forced labor.

The announcement did not identify those reports, enumerate the affected products or set an end date for the import bar. DHS disclosed the legal basis and named targets, but left the near-term commercial scale unstated. The case rests on an alleged supply-chain and genetic-testing link, not a disclosed shipment value or volume.

Why had BGI drawn U.S. scrutiny?

U.S. lawmakers and policymakers have worried for years about BGI Group’s alleged ties to the Chinese government and access to massive genetic data. They have said those links could hurt U.S. national security and commercial interests.

BGI Group has long stressed its private ownership. It also says it does not serve patients in the United States and has no access to Americans’ genetic data. DHS said BGI Group holds controlling stakes in BGI Genomics and MGI Tech.

The Pentagon has designated all three companies as Chinese military companies, a label that carries reputational damage. Congress failed to pass legislation specifically barring BGI from doing business with federally funded medical providers. At the end of last year, Congress instead passed a similar provision without naming companies and requested a list of “biotechnology companies of concerns.”

BGI was already under political and legislative scrutiny before DHS moved directly against its shipments.

Why does biotech now sit inside the U.S.-China trade fight?

Biotechnology is emerging as another front in the economic and technology competition between the two countries. The Treasury Department proposed new restrictions last week on U.S. investments in biotechnology, artificial intelligence and supercomputing flowing into countries such as China.

China rejected the forced-labor accusation and called the ban “political manipulation” and “bullying under the guise of ‘protecting human rights.’” Its Ministry of Commerce said: “These listings run counter to the consensus reached by the two countries’ heads of state, seriously undermine the stability of China-U.S. economic and trade relations, and violate the spirit of humanitarianism.”

The ministry added: “China will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its interests.” China’s government has called the underlying claims lies and defended its Xinjiang policy as combating terrorism and ensuring stability. Washington is moving on both imports and a proposed outbound investment restriction, while Beijing frames the measures as political coercion.

How large is the forced-labor blacklist?

The new restrictions operate under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which then-President Joe Biden signed into law at the end of 2021. The law followed allegations of human rights abuses by Beijing against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.

In August, the Trump administration expanded the blacklist under that law to include 43 Chinese companies, bringing the total to 187 entities. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has vowed to protect American workers from being undercut or cheated by foreign companies using slave labor.

BGI Group rejected the forced-labor allegations on Wednesday. It said it “has not engaged in any form of forced labor” and “we firmly oppose all forms of forced labor.”

The blacklist has grown to 187 entities, while BGI continues to deny any forced-labor involvement.

What could change before the Xi-Trump meeting?

The trade action precedes an expected meeting next month between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in Shenzhen, where BGI Group is based. Xi could then travel to Florida in December for the Group of 20 leaders summit and meet Trump for the fourth time this year. The two leaders are trying to keep ties stable during a trade truce.

Beijing has promised “necessary measures,” while Treasury’s separate investment proposal remains another policy track. The announcement names only BGI’s three entities; the next test is whether Washington broadens the ban or Beijing retaliates before the Shenzhen meeting.