BGI responds to U.S. blacklisting of subsidiaries

BGI Group has responded to a U.S. government decision to impose trade restrictions on three of its units, asserting that the Commerce Department “may have been impacted by misinformation and we are willing and able to clarify.” In a statement released Sunday, BGI said it “does not condone and would never be involved in any human-rights abuses,” and that the company is not state-owned or state-controlled.

The statements follow a March 2 announcement that the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security had added BGI Tech Solutions (Hongkong) Co. Ltd., Forensic Genomics International, and BGI Research to the Entity List. As a result, U.S. companies, organizations and individuals must obtain a license from the Commerce Department to sell products or services to the BGI units. ...