PVH, which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, is targeted for allegedly avoiding purchases from the region where the Chinese government has cracked

China to Investigate U.S. Retailer, Sending a Message Over Xinjiang

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2024-09-24 16:00:21

PVH, which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, is targeted for allegedly avoiding purchases from the region where the Chinese government has cracked down on Muslim minorities.

China said on Tuesday that it would investigate whether PVH, the American retailer that owns the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands, has taken “discriminatory measures” against products from Xinjiang in China’s far west.

The announcement, by China’s Ministry of Commerce, is a new escalation of China’s effort to fight bans or consumer boycotts of goods from Xinjiang.

Many Western governments have begun restricting or banning products from Xinjiang following mass arrests and evidence of forced labor among the region’s predominantly Muslim ethnic groups, particularly the Uyghurs. Researchers have cited evidence that cotton production in Xinjiang has been tainted by coercion.

Beijing is sending a message to multinational corporations that if they comply with consumer boycotts or government bans on products from Xinjiang, they may face retaliation in China.