"Hong Kong’s Esquel Group Added to U.S. Forced Labor Ban List" 31 October 2024

Esquel Group, an apparel maker and onetime supplier to Nike and Tommy Hilfiger, will be banned from importing into the U.S. over alleged ties to China-based forced labor, officials said.

Hong Kong-based Esquel and several related companies have been added to what is known as the entity list set up under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act...

The move is a significant setback to Esquel, which for years has tried to fight against U.S. allegations regarding links to forced labor. An Esquel subsidiary previously had been barred from importing to the U.S., which Esquel said led to its being dropped by clients such as Nike and Tommy Hilfiger...

Esquel didn’t respond to a request for comment but has denied allegations that it uses forced labor.