Japan’s clothing retailer Uniqlo Co has clarified that the shirts, whose imports have been blocked by the United States, are made from cotton sourced from outside China. As per Japan Times, the shirts are made at a plant in China using cotton procured from outside the country. Uniqlo emphasized that there has been no confirmation of forced labor during the manufacturing process for the items.

In January, U.S. Customs and Border Protection blocked imports of Uniqlo brand shirts for possible violation of a US ban related to suspected forced labor in China's Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region.

Uniqlo said its imports of other products manufactured at the same Chinese plant have bee permitted. The shirts are not subject to seizure by US authorities although their import was not allowed. The brand clarified that it has no direct transactions with Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a major producer of Uyghur cotton under the wing of the Communist Party of China.

The cotton used in the shirts in question was sourced from multiple countries other than China and the company has submitted certificates of origin to the CBP.