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Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

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Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act
Great Seal of the United States
Long title"An Act to ensure that goods made with forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China do not enter the United States market, and for other purposes."
Enacted bythe 117th United States Congress
EffectiveDecember 23, 2021
Citations
Public lawPub. L. 117–78 (text) (PDF)
Statutes at Large135 Stat. 1525
Legislative history

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (H.R. 6256) is a United States federal law that changed U.S. policy on China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR, or Xinjiang) with the goal of ensuring that American entities are not funding forced labor among ethnic minorities in the region. It was signed into law in December 2021 and took effect in June 2022.

The bill was first introduced in the 116th Congress and on September 22, 2020, the bill passed the House by 406–3 votes.[1] The three no votes were cast by Justin Amash, Warren Davidson, and Thomas Massie.[1] The bill died in committee in the Senate. The bill was reintroduced in the 117th Congress (S. 65) and unanimously passed the Senate on July 14, 2021.[2] On December 8, 2021, a similar bill (H.R. 1155) passed the House by a 428–1 vote.[3] Thomas Massie was the sole no vote. A revised version (H.R. 6256) that eliminated differences between the House and Senate bills passed the House on December 14, 2021,[4] and the Senate on December 16, 2021. It was signed into law by President Joe Biden on December 23, 2021.[5] Starting from 21 June 2022, any company that imports goods from the Xinjiang region need to certify that those goods were not produced using forced labor in order to avoid penalties.[6]

Background

[edit]
President Joe Biden signing the act, on December 23, 2021

Xinjiang and allegations of forced labor

[edit]
See also: Xinjiang internment camps § Forced labor, Persecution of Uyghurs in China, and Xinjiang cotton industry

Between 2014 and 2018, the cotton industry in Xinjiang saw a massive increase in output and employment.[7][8]: 46 

Xinjiang boycott advert on NYU's campus in New York, NY
"Boycott Xinjiang Genocide Products!
抵制新疆种族灭绝产品！
Also don't attack our Chinese neighbors.
Just say no to xenophobia and racism!"

According to an August 2019 book by Han Lianchao, Vice President of Citizen Power Initiatives for China, forced labor is so commonplace in Xinjiang that it is difficult to separate the forced labor economy from the regular economy. Han estimates that there are 500,000 to 800,000 people held in the more than seventy prisons in Xinjiang and that these prisoners are used for forced labor in numerous industries. Han further suspects that the million Uyghurs in the Xinjiang internment camps are likely also used for forced labor in a similar manner.[8]: 5  Han says that because Xinjiang supplies nearly 84 percent of China's cotton, any cotton, textile or garment products from China are likely tainted with forced labor.[8]: 46  Han's study concludes that products of this forced labor system have entered into international commerce, including the US and Europe, and that governments, companies and consumers should assume that any cotton products sourced from China are the product of forced labor in Xinjiang (XUAR).[8]: 5  The report recommended banning certain imports from Xinjiang to the United States.[8]: 58 

In September 2019, Nury Turkel, a Uyghur American lawyer and human rights advocate, testified to Congress that Uyghurs were being swept into a vast system of forced labor. Turkel said persons in the Xinjiang internment camps are often moved to factories and recommended bans on cotton and textile products from Xinjiang until internment policies are abolished and conditions for due diligence are established.[9]

In November 2019, Nathan Ruser, researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said

You can't be sure that you don't have coerced labour in your supply chain if you do cotton business in China ... Xinjiang labour and what is almost certainly coerced labour is very deeply entrenched into the supply chain that exists in Xinjiang.[10]

According to an August 2020 piece in The New York Times (NYT), it was estimated that roughly one in five cotton garments sold globally contains cotton or yarn from Xinjiang. It also reported that investigations by NYT, Wall Street Journal, and Axios found evidence connecting the detention of Uyghurs to supply chains of major fashion retailers.[11]

On September 17, 2020, China's State Council Information Office rejected claims of forced labor in Xinjiang, saying that ideologically biased international forces have applied double standards to Xinjiang and denied recognition of local efforts to protect human rights.[12]

On October 21, 2020, the Subcommittee on International Human Rights (SDIR) of the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development called on the Canadian government to condemn Beijing's policies against the Uyghurs, which the subcommittee said included forced labor.[13][14][15]

Existing legislation and bans

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Further information: United States sanctions against China

Since 1930, all goods made with forced labor have been banned in the United States under the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act. Under current rules, goods are banned if there is reasonable evidence of forced labor in the creation of the goods.[citation needed]

On September 14, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security blocked imports of products from four entities in Xinjiang: all products made with labor from the Lop County No. 4 Vocational Skills Education and Training Center; hair products made in the Lop County Hair Product Industrial Park; apparel produced by Yili Zhuowan Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and Baoding LYSZD Trade and Business Co., Ltd; and cotton produced and processed by Xinjiang Junggar Cotton and Linen Co., Ltd.[16][17][18]

On December 2, 2020, citing forced labor concerns, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Office of Trade issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) directing personnel at all U.S. ports of entry to detain all shipments containing cotton and cotton products originating from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC).[19]

U.S. sanctions related to Xinjiang[20][21][22]
Manufacturer(s) Date Merchandise Pursuant to Status
Baoding LYSZD Trade and Business Co., Ltd. September 3, 2020 Apparel Withhold Release Order (WRO)
Beijing Liuhe BGI (subsidiary of BGI Group) July 20, 2020 DNA Testing Entity List
Changji Esquel Textile Co. Ltd. (subsidiary of Esquel Group) July 20, 2020 Apparel Entity List
Hefei Bitland Information Technology Co., Ltd. July 20, 2020 Computer parts Entity List
September 8, 2020 WRO
Hero Vast Group August 11, 2020 Garments WRO
Hetian Haolin Hair Accessories Co., Ltd. May 1, 2020 Hair products WRO
July 20, 2020 Entity List
Hefei Meiling Co. Ltd. July 20, 2020 Home appliances Entity List
Hetian Taida Apparel Co., Ltd. September 30, 2019 Garments WRO
July 20, 2020 Entity List
KTK Group July 20, 2020 Ceiling panels and other components Entity List
Lop County Hair Product Industrial Park August 25, 2020 Hair products WRO
Lop County Meixin Hair Products Co., Ltd. June 17, 2020 Hair products WRO
Nanchang O-Film Tech July 20, 2020 Electronics Entity List
Nanjing Synergy Textiles Co. Ltd. July 20, 2020 Textiles Entity List
No. 4 Vocation Skills Education Training Center (VSETC) August 25, 2020 Labor WRO
Tanyuan Technology Co. Ltd. July 20, 2020 Electronics Entity List
Yili Zhuowan Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. September 3, 2020 Apparel WRO
Xinjiang Junggar Cotton and Linen Co., Ltd. September 8, 2020 Cotton and processed cotton WRO
Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps December 2, 2020 Cotton and processed cotton WRO
Xinjiang Silk Road BGI (subsidiary of BGI Group) July 20, 2020 DNA Testing Entity List

Legislative history

[edit]
Congress Short title Bill number(s) Date introduced Sponsor(s) # of cosponsors Latest status
116th Congress Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act H.R. 6210 March 11, 2020 Jim McGovern

(D-MA)

87 Passed in the House (406–3)[23]
S. 3471 March 12, 2020 Marco Rubio

(R-FL)

33 Died in Committee
117th Congress H.R. 1155 February 18, 2021 Jim McGovern

(D-MA)

114 Passed in the House (428–1)[24]
S. 65 January 27, 2021 Marco Rubio

(R-FL)

54 Passed in the Senate (voice vote)
None H.R. 6256 December 14, 2021 Jim McGovern

(D-MA)

1 Signed by President

On September 22, 2020, the bill passed the House by a 406–3 vote, with Republicans Thomas Massie, Warren Davidson and Libertarian Justin Amash voting against.[1]

An updated version was reintroduced in the 117th Congress.[25] It passed the House in a 428–1 vote on December 8, 2021,[26] with Thomas Massie as the lone vote against it, then passed the Senate unanimously (100–0), and was signed into law by President Biden on December 23, 2021.[5]

Purpose of legislation

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The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act made it U.S. policy to assume (a "rebuttable presumption") that all goods manufactured in Xinjiang are made with forced labor, unless the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection certifies that certain goods are known to not have been made with forced labor. The bill also calls for the President of the United States to impose sanctions on "any foreign person who 'knowingly engages'" in forced labor using minority Muslims. The bill further requires firms to disclose their dealings with Xinjiang.[27][28] A list of Chinese companies that have relied on forced labor is mandated to be compiled.[29]

Enforcement

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In July 2024, the U.S. government added aluminum, seafood, and polyvinyl chloride to its priority list for UFLPA enforcement.[30] In October 2024, imported goods from a Chinese steel manufacturer and a Chinese artificial sweetener maker were added to the UFLPA list.[31] In November 2024, textile supplier Esquel Group was banned from importing into the United States.[32]

Reactions

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Domestic

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United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) commissioners Gary Bauer,[33] James W. Carr,[34] and Nury Turkel[35] have called on Congress to pass the act. The AFL–CIO and Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention have supported the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.[36][37][38] Sophie Richardson, then China director of Human Rights Watch, said in April 2020 that the bill was unprecedented and could put pressure on companies seen as having some sway with Chinese authorities.[39]

The president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association said that blanket import bans on cotton or other products from Xinjiang from such legislation would "wreak havoc" on legitimate supply chains in the apparel industry because Xinjiang cotton exports are often intermingled with cotton from other countries and there is no available origin-tracing technology for cotton fibers.[40] On September 22, 2020, the United States Chamber of Commerce issued a letter stating that the act "would prove ineffective and may hinder efforts to prevent human rights abuses."[41] Major companies with supply chain ties to Xinjiang, including Apple Inc., Nike, Inc., and The Coca-Cola Company, have lobbied Congress to weaken the legislation and amend its provisions.[42]

In January 2024, the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party called for more aggressive enforcement of the UFLPA, including criminal prosecutions.[43]

Academia

[edit]

In 2023, academics Zhun Xu and Fangfei Lin called sanctions against China "baseless" and "imperialist responses to the crises of global capitalism." Lin wrote that the allegations of forced labor in Xinjiang cotton production made by the United States as grounds for sanctions are insufficiently supported.[44] They cite the historic significance of Uyghur agricultural workers as a long-standing labor force for manual cotton harvesting and staffing companies' widespread recruitment of Uyghur workers due to lower travel costs and is therefore a case a market-driven employment and not forced labor.[44] In their view, "[T]he labor demand of Uyghur seasonal cotton pickers in south Xinjiang is largely decided by its relatively low degree of agricultural capitalization, not due to the 'special treatment' towards labor migrants of a certain ethnic minority."[44] Xu and Lin also contend that the U.S. sanctions implemented by the Act adversely impact Uyghur farmers.[44]

Chinese government

[edit]

The stance of the Chinese government and its ruling Chinese Communist Party on this as taken from People's Daily: "The U.S. act fabricates the so-called "forced labor" issue in China's Xinjiang and grossly interferes in China's internal affairs under the pretext of human rights, said a statement issued by the Foreign Affairs Committee of China's National People's Congress. "Should the United States choose to go down the wrong path, China will take resolute and forceful countermeasures," said the statement.[45]

See also

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References

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  32. ^ Vanderford, Richard (October 31, 2024). "Hong Kong's Esquel Group Added to U.S. Forced Labor Ban List". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
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  40. ^ Lawder, David (September 17, 2020). "US ban on China's Xinjiang cotton 'would wreak havoc', leading apparel group says". Reuters. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  41. ^ Neil L. Bradley (September 22, 2020). "U.S. Chamber Letter on H.R. 6210, the "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act," and H.R. 6270, the "Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act of 2020"". United States Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  42. ^ Swanson, Ana (November 29, 2020). "Nike and Coca-Cola Lobby Against Xinjiang Forced Labor Bill". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  43. ^ Vanderford, Richard (January 22, 2024). "Enforcement of China Forced-Labor Import Ban Needs to Be Much Tougher, Say U.S. Lawmakers". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  44. ^ a b c d Xu, Zhun; Lin, Fangfei (2023). "The Political Economy of U.S. Sanctions against China". In Davis, Stuart; Ness, Immanuel (eds.). Sanctions as War: Anti-Imperialist Perspectives on American Geo-Economic Strategy. Haymarket Books. pp. 314–316. doi:10.1163/9789004501201_019. ISBN 978-1-64259-812-4. OCLC 1345216431.
  45. ^ "Chinese top legislature opposes U.S. Signing of so-called "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act"-Xinhua". Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
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