On July 6, the official website of “Esquel Group” issued a statement regarding the U.S. Department of Commerce’s transfer of its subsidiary Changji Esquel Textile to Ltd. (referred to as Changji Esquel) was included in the Entity List and filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
It can be seen that there are two important keywords in the statement “lack of legal and factual basis” and “irreparable damage”.
As we all know, former U.S. President Trump used old-fashioned excuses such as “forced labor” and “human rights violations” to smear him during his term of office. Rhetorically, Xinjiang Changji Esquel Textile Co., Ltd. (Changji Esquel), a subsidiary of Esquel Group, was included in the so-called “entity list”. Of course, it is not only Changji Esquel that is “treated equally”.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian has responded to the United States’ “Xiang Zhuang Sword Dance” many times.
However, for Esquel Group, which focuses on and specializes in the textile and apparel industry, this “litigation” is undoubtedly the most direct response to the “false accusations” suffered by the company since 2020. “response”.
In the statement, Esquel clearly stated: In the past year, Esquel has invited a number of global third-party independent audit institutions to apply SMETA (an internationally recognized (ethical audit format) went to Esquel in Changji, Xinjiang for on-site inspection and conducted random independent interviews with a number of Uyghur employees. All audit results clearly show that there is no evidence to prove that Changji Esquel has engaged in forced labor or coercion of employees under any circumstances.
In addition, the production and operation of Changji Esquel’s textile factory mainly relies on technologically advanced and highly automated equipment, which was selected for the Changji Esquel 30,000-spindle intelligent spinning project in 2015. The most advanced production equipment from the world’s top spinning equipment suppliers such as Rieter of Switzerland, Neuhaus of Germany, Savio of Italy, and USTER of Switzerland. As early as 2017, Changji Esquel Textile was listed in the “2017 Textile Industry Pilot Enterprises for Implementing Intelligent Manufacturing”, and has been at the forefront of the industry in “integration of informatization and informatization”.
Of course, as one of the world’s largest pure cotton shirt manufacturers, being included in the “Entity List” will undoubtedly have a huge impact on Esquel Group.
Esquel was founded in 1978 by Hong Kong industrialist Yang Yuanlong. The group produces ready-made garments for well-known brands such as Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss and Muji, with approximately 50,000 employees, with an annual production capacity of over 100 million pieces of garments. For a long time, European and American brand customers have accounted for nearly 70% of Esquel’s sales. Being included in the “entity list” and the superimposed impact of the epidemic directly led to the closure of Esquel’s factories in Flack, Mauritius, as well as Penang and Kelantan, Malaysia, last year, which mainly served US customers.
However, thanks to the company’s timely adjustment of development strategies and “branding” operations, in 2020, Esquel’s turnover remained the same as the previous year. Not only were the factory orders full, but also The converted “Shirushi” cotton masks, which can be washed and used 30 times, are also in short supply around the world, and orders are scheduled for six months. In addition, Esquel is also actively expanding the domestic market and looking for new customers with long-term cooperation potential; at the same time, it is vigorously developing its own brands “Pai” and “Shirushi”, and stated that this will be the next three years for Esquel Group. Focus on the Chinese market.
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