Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3471 To ensure that goods made with forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autono- mous Region of the People’s Republic of China do not enter the United States market, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 12, 2020 Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. ROMNEY, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. DAINES, Mr. COTTON, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. DURBIN, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL 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. 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 Forced Labor 4 Prevention Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3471.IS S3471 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3471 IS (1) In the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Re- 1 gion, the Government of the People’s Republic of 2 China has established a system of extrajudicial mass 3 internment camps arbitrarily detaining as many as 4 1,800,000 Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members 5 of other Muslim minority groups who have been sub- 6 jected to forced labor, torture, political indoctrina- 7 tion, and severe human rights abuses. 8 (2) Forced labor exists within the Xinjiang 9 Uyghur Autonomous Region’s system of mass in- 10 ternment camps, and throughout the region, and is 11 confirmed by the testimony of former camp detain- 12 ees, satellite imagery, and official leaked documents 13 from the Government of the People’s Republic of 14 China as part of a targeted campaign of repression 15 of Muslim ethnic minorities. 16 (3) There is a very high risk that many fac- 17 tories and other suppliers in the Xinjiang Uyghur 18 Autonomous Region are exploiting forced labor, ac- 19 cording to reports from researchers, media, and civil 20 society groups. Audits to vet products and supply 21 chains in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 22 are not possible because of the extent to which 23 forced labor has contaminated the regional economy, 24 the mixing of involuntary labor with voluntary labor, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3471.IS S3471 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3471 IS the inability of witnesses to speak freely about work- 1 ing conditions given heavy government surveillance 2 and coercion, and the strong incentive of government 3 officials to conceal government-sponsored forced 4 labor. 5 (4) In its June 2019 Trafficking in Persons Re- 6 port, the Department of State found, ‘‘Authorities 7 offer subsidies incentivizing Chinese companies to 8 open factories in close proximity to the internment 9 camps, and local governments receive additional 10 funds for each inmate forced to work in these sites 11 at a fraction of minimum wage or without any com- 12 pensation.’’. 13 (5) In September 2019, U.S. Customs and Bor- 14 der Protection issued a ‘‘withhold release order’’ 15 with respect to garments produced by Hetian Taida 16 Apparel Co., Ltd., because of ‘‘suspected prison or 17 forced labor’’ from its factories in the Xinjiang 18 Uyghur Autonomous Region. 19 (6) In its 2019 Annual Report, the Congres- 20 sional-Executive Commission on China found that 21 products reportedly produced with forced labor by 22 current and former mass internment camp detainees 23 included textiles, electronics, food products, shoes, 24 tea, and handicrafts. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3471.IS S3471 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3471 IS (7) According to public reports, companies that 1 are or have been suspected of directly employing 2 forced labor or sourcing from suppliers that are sus- 3 pected of using forced labor include Adidas, Badger 4 Sportswear, Calvin Klein, the Campbell Soup Com- 5 pany, the Coca-Cola Company, COFCO Tunhe Com- 6 pany, Costco, Esquel Group, Esprit, H&M, Hetian 7 Taida, the Huafu Fashion Company, the Kraft 8 Heinz Company, Litai Textiles, Nike, Inc., Pata- 9 gonia, Inc., Tommy Hilfiger, the Urumqi Shengshi 10 Huaer Culture Technology Company, the Yili Zhuo 11 Wan Garment Manufacturing Company, and the 12 Zhihui Haipai Internet of Things Technology Com- 13 pany. 14 (8) Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 15 U.S.C. 1307) prohibits the importation into the 16 United States of ‘‘goods, wares, articles, and mer- 17 chandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly 18 or in part’’ by forced labor. Such merchandise is 19 subject to exclusion or seizure and may lead to 20 criminal investigation of the importer. 21 (9) The policies of the Government of the Peo- 22 ple’s Republic of China are in contravention of inter- 23 national human rights standards, including— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3471.IS S3471 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3471 IS (A) the Universal Declaration of Human 1 Rights and the International Covenant on Civil 2 and Political Rights, which the People’s Repub- 3 lic of China has signed but not yet ratified; 4 (B) the International Covenant on Eco- 5 nomic, Social, and Cultural Rights, ratified by 6 the People’s Republic of China in 2001; and 7 (C) the United Nations Protocol to Pre- 8 vent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Per- 9 sons, Especially Women and Children (com- 10 monly referred to as the ‘‘Palermo Protocol’’), 11 to which the People’s Republic of China is a 12 state party. 13 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 14 It is the policy of the United States— 15 (1) to prohibit the importation of all goods pro- 16 duced, in whole or in part, by forced labor from the 17 People’s Republic of China and particularly any such 18 goods produced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous 19 Region in the People’s Republic of China; 20 (2) to encourage the international community 21 to reduce the importation of any goods produced by 22 forced labor from the People’s Republic of China, 23 particularly those goods produced in the Xinjiang 24 Uyghur Autonomous Region; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3471.IS S3471 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3471 IS (3) to actively work to prevent, publicly de- 1 nounce, and end human trafficking as a horrific as- 2 sault on human dignity and to restore the lives of 3 those affected by human trafficking, a modern form 4 of slavery; 5 (4) to regard the prevention of atrocities as in 6 the national interest of the United States, including 7 efforts to prevent— 8 (A) torture; 9 (B) enforced disappearances; 10 (C) severe deprivation of liberty, including 11 mass internment, arbitrary detention, and wide- 12 spread and systematic use of forced labor; and 13 (D) persecution targeting any identifiable 14 ethnic or religious group; and 15 (5) to address gross violations of human rights 16 in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region— 17 (A) through bilateral diplomatic channels 18 and multilateral institutions in which both the 19 United States and the People’s Republic of 20 China are members; and 21 (B) by using all the authorities available to 22 the United States Government, including visa 23 and financial sanctions, export restrictions, and 24 import controls. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3471.IS S3471 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3471 IS SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 3 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 4 mittees’’ means— 5 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 6 and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 7 Urban Affairs of the Senate; and 8 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 9 the Committee on Financial Services of the 10 House of Representatives. 11 (2) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ means a part- 12 nership, association, trust, joint venture, corpora- 13 tion, group, subgroup, or other organization. 14 (3) FORCED LABOR.—The term ‘‘forced labor’’ 15 has the meaning given that term in section 307 of 16 the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307). 17 (4) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 18 son’’ means any person that is not a United States 19 person— 20 (A) an individual who is not a United 21 States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for 22 permanent residence to the United States; or 23 (B) an entity that is not a United States 24 person. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Mar 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3471.IS S3471 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3471 IS (5) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in- 1 dividual or entity. 2 (6) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 3 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 4 (A) an individual who is a United States 5 citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for perma- 6 nent residence to the United States; 7 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 8 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 9 United States, including a foreign branch of 10 such an entity; or 11 (C) any person in the United States. 12 SEC. 5. REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION THAT IMPORT PROHI- 13 BITION APPLIES TO GOODS PRODUCED IN 14 THE XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS RE- 15 GION. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 17 date of the enactment of this Act, and except as provided 18 in subsection (c)— 19 (1) the importation of goods described in sub- 20 section (b) shall be deemed to be prohibited under 21 section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 22 1307); and 23 (2) such goods shall not be entitled to entry at 24 any of the ports of the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3471.IS S3471 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3471 IS (b) GOODS DESCRIBED.—Goods described in this 1 subsection are any significant goods, wares, articles, and 2 merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or 3 in part— 4 (1) in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 5 of the People’s Republic of China; or 6 (2) by entities working with the government of 7 the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region under 8 ‘‘poverty alleviation’’ or ‘‘mutual pairing assistance’’ 9 programs. 10 (c) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply with 11 respect to a good if the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 12 and Border Protection— 13 (1) finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that 14 the good was not produced wholly or in part with 15 convict labor, forced labor, or indentured labor 16 under penal sanctions; and 17 (2) submits to the appropriate congressional 18 committees, and makes available to the public, a re- 19 port on that finding. 20 SEC. 6. DETERMINATION OF WHETHER FORCED LABOR IN 21 THE XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS RE- 22 GION CONSTITUTES AN ATROCITY. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 24 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3471.IS S3471 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3471 IS shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 1 a report that sets for the determination of the Secretary 2 with respect to whether the forced labor experienced by 3 Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim 4 minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Re- 5 gion of the People’s Republic of China is systematic and 6 widespread and therefore constitutes an atrocity within 7 the meaning of section 6 of the Elie Wiesel Genocide and 8 Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–441; 9 22 U.S.C. 2656 note). 10 (b) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a)— 11 (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but 12 may include a classified annex, if necessary; and 13 (2) may be submitted with the report required 14 by section 7. 15 SEC. 7. STRATEGY TO ADDRESS FORCED LABOR IN THE 16 XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 18 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 19 in coordination with the heads of other appropriate Fed- 20 eral agencies, shall submit to the appropriate congres- 21 sional committees a report that details the strategy of the 22 United States to promote initiatives to enhance inter- 23 national awareness of and to address the forced labor in 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3471.IS S3471 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3471 IS the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s 1 Republic of China. 2 (b) ELEMENTS OF STRATEGY.—The strategy re- 3 quired by subsection (a) shall include— 4 (1) a plan to enhance bilateral and multilateral 5 outreach, including sustained engagement with the 6 governments of partners and allies of the United 7 States, to end the forced labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, 8 Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority 9 groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; 10 (2) public affairs and public diplomacy cam- 11 paigns, including options to work with news organi- 12 zations and media outlets to publish opinion pieces 13 and secure public speaking opportunities for United 14 States Government officials on issues related to the 15 human rights situation, including forced labor, in 16 the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; 17 (3) opportunities to coordinate and collaborate 18 with appropriate nongovernmental organizations and 19 private sector entities to raise awareness about prod- 20 ucts made using forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur 21 Autonomous Region; and 22 (4) opportunities to provide assistance to 23 Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other 24 Muslim minority groups, including those formerly 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Mar 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3471.IS S3471 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3471 IS detained in mass internment camps in the Xinjiang 1 Uyghur Autonomous Region. 2 (c) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report required by 3 subsection (a) shall include— 4 (1) a list of Chinese entities that— 5 (A) directly or indirectly use forced labor 6 in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; or 7 (B) act as agents of such entities to import 8 goods into the United States; 9 (2) a list of products made wholly or in part by 10 forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous 11 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]