What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Secretary of the Treasury to review 10 specific Chinese companies and determine if they should face sanctions (penalties that restrict their ability to do business). The review focuses on whether these companies are involved in human rights abuses against Uyghurs or other Muslim ethnic groups in China's Xinjiang region.
Who It Affects
The 10 Chinese companies listed in the bill, the U.S. Treasury Department, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Attorney General, and Congress.
Key Provisions
• The Secretary of the Treasury must decide within 60 days whether the 10 named Chinese companies are responsible for or involved in serious human rights abuses against Uyghurs or other Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang (Sec. 2(a)(1)(A)).
• The Secretary must also determine if these companies meet criteria for sanctions under four separate federal laws and executive orders that address human rights violations and corruption (Sec. 2(a)(1)(B)).
• If the Secretary finds that a company meets the criteria, that company must be added to the list of blocked entities maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (a Treasury office that enforces financial sanctions) (Sec. 2(a)(2)).
• The Secretary must submit a report to Congress explaining the reasons for each determination, and the report can include classified information (secret government information) in a separate section (Sec. 2(a)(3) and Sec. 2(c)).
What Changes
If this becomes law, 10 named Chinese companies face potential sanctions including being blocked from conducting business transactions in the United States if they are found to have committed human rights abuses.
Important Definitions
None defined in the bill text.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 585
To require a determination of whether certain Chinese entities meet the
criteria for the imposition of sanctions, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 1, 2023
Mr. RUBIO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Foreign Relations
A BILL
To require a determination of whether certain Chinese enti-
ties meet the criteria for the imposition of sanctions,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Uyghur Human Rights
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Sanctions Review Act’’.
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SEC. 2. DETERMINATION OF WHETHER CERTAIN CHINESE
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ENTITIES MEET CRITERIA FOR IMPOSITION
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OF SANCTIONS.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the
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date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the
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Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and
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the Attorney General, shall—
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(1) determine whether any entity specified in
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subsection (b)—
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(A) is responsible for or complicit in, or
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has directly or indirectly engaged in, serious
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human rights abuses against Uyghurs or other
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predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the
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Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the
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People’s Republic of China; or
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(B) meets the criteria for the imposition of
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sanctions under—
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(i) the Global Magnitsky Human
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Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C.
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10101 et seq.);
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(ii) section 6 of the Uyghur Human
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Rights Policy Act of 2020 (Public Law
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116–145; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note);
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(iii) section 105, 105A, 105B, or
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105C of the Comprehensive Iran Sanc-
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tions, Accountability, and Divestment Act
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of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514, 8514a, 8514b,
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and 8514c);
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(iv) Executive Order 13818 (50
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U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking the
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•S 585 IS
property of persons involved in serious
1
human rights abuse or corruption), as
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amended on or after the date of the enact-
3
ment of this Act; or
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(v) Executive Order 13553 (50 U.S.C.
5
1701 note; relating to blocking property of
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certain persons with respect to serious
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human rights abuses by the Government of
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Iran and taking certain other actions), as
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amended on or after the date of the enact-
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ment of this Act;
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(2) if the Secretary of the Treasury determines
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under paragraph (1) that an entity is responsible for
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or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged
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in, serious human rights abuses described in sub-
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paragraph (A) of that paragraph or meets the cri-
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teria for the imposition of sanctions described in
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subparagraph (B) of that paragraph, the Secretary
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shall include the entity on the list of specially des-
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ignated nationals and blocked persons maintained by
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the Office of Foreign Assets Control; and
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(3) submit to Congress a report on that deter-
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mination that includes the reasons for the deter-
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mination.
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(b) ENTITIES SPECIFIED.—An entity specified in this
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subsection is any of the following:
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(1) Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology
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Co., Ltd.
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(2) Shenzhen Huada Gene Technology Co.,
5
Ltd. (BGI Group).
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(3) Tiandy Technologies Co., Ltd.
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(4) Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., Ltd.
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(5) China Electronics Technology Group Co.
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(6) Zhejiang Uniview Technologies Co., Ltd.
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(7) Alibaba Group Holding, Ltd.
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(8) Baidu, Inc.
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(9) ByteDance Ltd.
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(10) China TransInfo Technology Co., Ltd.
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(c) FORM OF REPORT.—The report required by sub-
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section (a)(3) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but
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may include a classified annex.
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Æ
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