Washington: The United States announced new trade restrictions on Tuesday, targeting eight companies from China, Russia, and Myanmar over alleged human rights abuses.

Among the firms added to the US Commerce Department's "entity list" are two Chinese companies. Zhejiang Uniview Technologies is accused of enabling surveillance of Uyghurs and other minority groups in China, while Beijing Zhongdun Security Technology Group allegedly provides technology used by public security authorities to commit rights violations.

These trade restrictions require US companies to obtain special licenses before exporting to the listed firms. "Human rights abuses are contrary to the foreign policy interests of the United States," said Alan Estevez, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security. He emphasized that the measure ensures US technology is not used to support rights violations.

Attempts to contact the Chinese companies were unsuccessful.

The US and other Western countries have criticized China's treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, alleging the detention of over a million people and widespread abuses. Beijing denies these claims.

The Commerce Department also sanctioned two firms in Myanmar and two others in Russia. The Myanmar companies were implicated in supplying military components used in aerial attacks against civilians. Meanwhile, the Russian firms were accused of providing facial recognition technology used by Moscow to monitor and target peaceful protesters, contributing to mass surveillance.

The move reflects continued US efforts to address global human rights violations through economic and trade measures.