US bans imports from China's BGI over forced-labor claims

A major Chinese DNA-sequencing company can no longer ship goods into the United States. The Department of Homeland Security said on October 28 that Customs will bar products from three firms. They are BGI Group, BGI Genomics and MGI Tech. The ban started October 29. DHS says BGI Group holds controlling stakes in the other two.

Gene sequencing means reading a person's DNA. DHS alleges the three firms source from or work with Xinjiang's regional government to recruit and move forced labor. It also says genetic testing there helps China monitor and repress ethnic minorities. DHS cited what it called credible corporate and government reporting. BGI Group rejects all of it. It says it has long been privately owned. It also says it does not serve US patients and has no access to Americans' genetic data. The Treasury Department recently proposed limits on US investment in Chinese biotech. The ban lands as the two countries compete in biotechnology.

Keep reading — what to watch

Will the US add other biotech firms to this list? Watch how China responds. AP reports the ban comes before an expected meeting between the two countries' leaders in November. Watch, too, whether BGI challenges the ban or whether labs that buy its sequencers have to switch suppliers.