1 day Ago By David Richards
The Chinese entity that manufactures ChiQ appliances and TV’s, which are widely sold in Australia at Harvey Norman, Appliances Online and The Good Guys, has been added to a new US Federal Government ‘banned list’ following recent investigation into the Companies activities, despite the ban retailers in Australia continue to sell their products. The Chinese appliance and TV brand has been banned by the US Homeland Security, following investigations by US officials that resulted the Company’s products being determined as having been “manufactured wholly or in part articles and using forced or slave labour in China”. Last month Homeland Security again added Changhong Meiling Co.
, Ltd. (formerly known as Hefei Meiling Co., Ltd.
; and Hefei Meiling Group Holdings Limited to the banned Entities List, the Company is the major shareholder in Sichuan Changhong Electric the Company that manufactures ChiQ appliances. The widely sold appliance and TV range was first added in 2021, a move that did not stop key retailers in Australia stocking the Melbourne based Companies products. Australian retailers have not said why they are continuing to sell the US banned Chinese appliances and TV’s which are also banned in Canada.
One insider said, “It’s all about margin ChiQ and Sichuan Changhong Electric which is a key subsidiary of the banned Company are offering better margin and cheaper appliances to Australian retailers than a lot of their competitors, and this appeals to retailers looking for better margins”. In Australia the Chinese Companies subsidiary Sichuan Changhong Electric Co., Ltd changed the name of their appliances and TV’s to ChiQ after initially selling the products as Changhong TV’s and appliances.
The business has also been a major supplier of TVs to the Melbourne Formula One grand prix. Also accused of using slave labour in China to manufacture their products is South Korean brand LG Electronics. Earlier this year after being exposed the Company claimed that they were holding major review according to a document obtained by ChannelNews while ChiQ owner is again on a new US Homeland Security banned lis The outgoing Biden administration has moved to block imports from Changhong Meiling and related Companies claiming that they are alleged to have links to forced labour in the country’s Xinjiang region.
The inclusion of Changhong Meiling is the largest-ever expansion of the Governments banned Companies list that took effect in 2022. The US Government has confirmed that ChiQ appliances and TVs are being blocked from entering the USA under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. Enforcement of the law has been a prominent part of the Biden administration’s efforts to tackle what it deems unfair Chinese trade practices.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, “Holding organizations accountable for their human rights abuses is a priority of ours and has never been stronger.” The Department of Homeland Security has a major task force working on this issue. The Wall Street Journal claims that Friday’s action could be among the Biden administration’s last significant UFLPA measures.
As of Nov. 1, about $3.66 billion in shipments have been blocked since the law took effect in June 2022, according to data from U.
S. Customs and Border Protection. Some critics have said the U.
S. should expand the blacklist and intensify the crackdown, but Mayorkas defended the administration’s accomplishments in enforcing the law, adding that the U.S.
is leaning into technology that can help identify problematic suppliers. The reemergence of Changhong Meiling on the list follows new investigations with Homeland Security officials claiming that they have made incredible strides in their investigative capabilities, and we are looking at harnessing, increasingly, technology to assist us in that,” he said. Donald Trump’s pick to head the State Department, Marco Rubio, sponsored the UFLPA in the Senate and has argued for tough enforcement.
The Anthony Albanese Labor Government has not said whether they will support the ban or even investigate the sale of ChiQ products in Australia..
