Three Vietnamese garment manufacturers linked to Hong Kong-based Esquel Group exported at least $5 million in cotton goods to the United States after Washington sanctioned Esquel in November 2024 over alleged ties to forced-labor programs in China’s Xinjiang region. Esquel denies the allegations. The companies—An Loi Apparel, Tessellation Binh Duong and Tessellation Hoa Binh—formerly used variations of the name Esquel Garment Manufacturing Vietnam and were rebranded in October 2022. Corporate filings listed Edgar Tung, Esquel’s chief executive between 2021 and 2022, as an owner’s representative at all three, while the same three offshore firms owned them before and after the name changes. Former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Joshua Kagan said the connections were likely sufficient for customs authorities to view the manufacturers as operating within Esquel’s ecosystem. Reuters could not determine whether their U.S.-bound products contained cotton produced by Esquel or in Xinjiang, where about 20% of global cotton is produced. Shipment data showed Esquel remained the Vietnamese makers’ largest supplier for years and sent about 70% of the $34 million in cotton it exported from China between November 2024 and June 2026 to the three companies. Muji and Rodd & Gunn confirmed sourcing from the manufacturers but said they were unaware of links to Esquel. The findings also highlight enforcement limits: U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained roughly $2.6 million of the $28 billion in apparel shipped from Vietnam to the United States between November 2024 and June 2026 under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, with more than half of the detained goods later released.