[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 65 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 65
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the
People's Republic of China, the Government of the People's
Republic of China has, since April 2017, arbitrarily detained
more than 1,000,000 Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, and
members of other persecuted groups in a system of extrajudicial
mass internment camps, and has subjected detainees to forced
labor, torture, political indoctrination, and other severe
human rights abuses.
(2) Forced labor, a severe form of human trafficking,
exists within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region's system of
mass internment camps, and throughout the region, and is
confirmed by the testimony of former camp detainees, satellite
imagery, and official leaked documents from the Government of
the People's Republic of China as part of a targeted campaign
of repression of Muslim ethnic minorities.
(3) Researchers and civil society groups have issued
reports documenting evidence that many factories and other
suppliers in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are
exploiting forced labor, on July 22, 2020, the Bureau of
Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce added 11
entities to the Entity List set forth in Supplement No. 4 to
part 744 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, after
determining the entities had been ``implicated in human rights
violations and abuses in the implementation of China's campaign
of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor and high-
technology surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz,
Tibetans, and members of other persecuted groups in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region''.
(4) Since October 2019, the Bureau of Industry and Security
of the Department of Commerce has added a total of 48 entities
of the Government of the People's Republic of China to the
Entity List set forth in Supplement No. 4 to part 744 of title
15, Code of Federal Regulations, in connection with their
implication in human rights abuses in the implementation of
China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention,
forced labor, and high-technology surveillance against Uyghurs,
Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. As a consequence of their
addition to the Entity List, comprehensive restrictions apply
to the export, reexport, and in-country transfer of most United
States-origin items to those 48 entities. Audits and
traditional due diligence efforts to vet goods and supply
chains in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are unreliable
for identifying the absence of forced labor in the production
of goods because of interference by the Government of the
People's Republic of China, including through intimidation of
potential witnesses and concealment of relevant information.
(5) Reports cited by the Department of Labor estimate that
hundreds of thousands of ex-detainees who are Uyghurs, Kazakhs,
Kyrgyz, Tibetans, or members of other persecuted groups in the
People's Republic of China may be working in conditions of
forced labor following detention in re-education camps.
Moreover, nongovernmental organizations estimate that more than
80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region to work in factories across the People's
Republic of China between 2017 and 2019, and some of them were
sent directly from detention camps.
(6) The Department of State's June 2020 Trafficking in
Persons Report found, ``Authorities offer subsidies
incentivizing Chinese companies to open factories in close
proximity to the internment camps and to receive transferred
detainees at satellite manufacturing sites in other provinces.
Local governments receive additional funds for each inmate
forced to work in these sites at a fraction of minimum wage or
without any compensation. The government has transported tens
of thousands of these individuals to other areas within
Xinjiang and to other provinces for forced labor under the
guise of poverty alleviation and industrial aid programs.''.
(7) U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued 11
withhold release orders on goods suspected to be produced with
forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Goods
subject to the withhold release orders include all cotton,
cotton products, tomatoes, and tomato products, as well as
certain garments, hair products, apparel, computer parts, and
other goods.
(8) In its 2019 annual report, the Congressional-Executive
Commission on China found that goods reportedly produced with
forced labor by current and former mass internment camp
detainees included textiles, electronics, food products, shoes,
tea, and handicrafts.
(9) Under section 1091(a) of title 18, United States Code,
a person commits genocide if the person ``whether in time of
peace or in time of war and with the specific intent to
destroy, in whole or in substantial part, a national, ethnic,
racial, or religious group as such--
``(1) kills members of that group;
``(2) causes serious bodily injury to members of
that group;
``(3) causes the permanent impairment of the mental
faculties of members of the group through drugs,
torture, or similar techniques;
``(4) subjects the group to conditions of life that
are intended to cause the physical destruction of the
group in whole or in part;
``(5) imposes measures intended to prevent births
within the group; or
``(6) transfers by force children of the group to
another group.''.
(10) As a direct result of the campaign of targeted and
coercive population control of the Government of the People's
Republic of China's against Uyghurs, the birthrate of the
Uyghur population in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
plummeted by 24 percent from 2017 to 2018, with birthrates in
the Uyghur majority regions of Hotan and Kashgar decreasing by
more than 60 percent from 2015 to 2018.
(11) The policies of the Government of the People's
Republic of China are in contravention of its human rights
commitments and obligations, including under--
(A) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
(B) the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, which the People's Republic of China
has signed but not yet ratified; and
(C) the United Nations Protocol to Prevent,
Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially
Women and Children (commonly known as the ``Palermo
Protocol''), to which the People's Republic of China
has been a state party since February 2010.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to strengthen the prohibition against the importation
of goods made with forced labor, including by ensuring that the
Government of the People's Republic of China does not undermine
the effective enforcement of section 307 of the Tariff Act of
1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307), which prohibits the importation of all
``goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced or
manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by . . .
forced labor'';
(2) to lead the international community in ending forced
labor practices wherever such practices occur through all means
available to the United States Government, including by
stopping the importation of any goods made with forced labor,
including those goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly
or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
(3) to actively work to prevent, publicly denounce, and end
human trafficking, including with respect to forced labor,
whether sponsored by the government of a foreign country or
not, and to restore the lives of those affected by human
trafficking, a modern form of slavery;
(4) to regard the prevention of atrocities as a priority in
the national interests of the United States; and
(5) to address gross violations of human rights in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region--
(A) through bilateral diplomatic channels and
multilateral institutions in which both the United
States and the People's Republic of China are members;
and
(B) using all the authorities available to the
United States Government, including visa and financial
sanctions, export restrictions, and import controls.
SEC. 4. STRATEGY TO ENFORCE PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF GOODS MADE
THROUGH FORCED LABOR IN THE XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS
REGION.
(a) Public Comment.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 45 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury and
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall jointly, and in
consultation with the United States Trade Representative, the
Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Labor, publish in the
Federal Register a notice soliciting public comments on how
best to ensure that goods mined, produced, or manufactured
wholly or in part with forced labor in the People's Republic of
China, including by Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, and
members of other persecuted groups in the People's Republic of
China, and especially in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,
are not imported into the United States.
(2) Period for comment.--The Secretary of the Treasury and
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide the public
with not less than 60 days to submit comments in response to
the notice required by paragraph (1).
(b) Public Hearing.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 45 days after the close of
the period to submit comments under subsection (a)(2), the
Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Homeland Security,
the Secretary of Labor, the United States Trade Representative,
and the Secretary of State shall jointly conduct a public
hearing inviting witnesses to testify with respect to the use
of forced labor in the People's Republic of China and potential
measures, including the measures described in paragraph (2), to
prevent the importation of goods mined, produced, or
manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor in the
People's Republic of China into the United States.
(2) Measures described.--The measures described in this
paragraph are--
(A) measures that can be taken to trace the origin
of goods, offer greater supply chain transparency, and
identify third country supply chain routes for goods
mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with
forced labor in the People's Republic of China; and
(B) other measures for ensuring that goods mined,
produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with forced
labor do not enter the United States.
(c) Development of Strategy.--After receiving public comments under
subsection (a) and holding the hearing required by subsection (b), the
Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall
jointly, and in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, the United
States Trade Representative, the Secretary of State, and the Director
of National Intelligence, develop a strategy for preventing the
importation into the United States of goods mined, produced, or
manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor in the People's
Republic of China.
(d) Elements.--The strategy developed under subsection (c) shall
include the following:
(1) A comprehensive assessment of the risk of importing
goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with
forced labor in the People's Republic of China, including from
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or made by Uyghurs,
Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, or members of other persecuted
groups in any other part of the People's Republic of China,
that identifies, to the extent feasible--
(A) threats, including through the potential
involvement in supply chains of entities that may use
forced labor, that could lead to the importation into
the United States from the People's Republic of China,
including through third countries, of goods mined,
produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with forced
labor; and
(B) what procedures can be implemented or improved
to reduce such threats.
(2) A comprehensive description and evaluation--
(A) of ``pairing assistance'' and ``poverty
alleviation'' or any other government labor scheme that
includes the forced labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz,
Tibetans, or members of other persecuted groups outside
of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or similar
programs of the People's Republic of China in which
work or services are extracted from Uyghurs, Kazakhs,
Kyrgyz, Tibetans, or members of other persecuted groups
through the threat of penalty or for which the Uyghurs,
Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, or members of other
persecuted groups have not offered themselves
voluntarily; and
(B) that includes--
(i) a list of entities working with the
government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region to move forced labor or Uyghurs,
Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted
groups out of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region;
(ii) a list of products mined, produced, or
manufactured wholly or in part by entities on
the list required by clause (i);
(iii) a list of entities that exported
products described in clause (ii) from the
People's Republic of China into the United
States;
(iv) a list of facilities and entities,
including the Xinjiang Production and
Construction Corps, that source material from
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or from
persons working with the government of the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or the
Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps for
purposes of the ``poverty alleviation'' program
or the ``pairing-assistance'' program or any
other government labor scheme that uses forced
or involuntary labor;
(v) a plan for identifying additional
facilities and entities described in clause
(iv);
(vi) an enforcement plan for each such
entity, which may include issuing withhold
release orders to support enforcement of
section 5 with respect to the entity;
(vii) a list of high-priority sectors for
enforcement, which shall include cotton,
tomatoes, and polysilicon; and
(viii) an enforcement plan for each such
high-priority sector.
(3) Recommendations for efforts, initiatives, and tools and
technologies to be adopted to ensure that U.S. Customs and
Border Protection can accurately identify and trace goods made
in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region entering at any of the
ports of the United States.
(4) A description of how U.S. Customs and Border Protection
plans to enhance its use of legal authorities and other tools
to ensure that no goods are entered at any of the ports of the
United States in violation of section 307 of the Tariff Act of
1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307), including through the initiation of
pilot programs to test the viability of technologies to assist
in the examination of such goods.
(5) Guidance to importers with respect to--
(A) due diligence, effective supply chain tracing,
and supply chain management measures to ensure that
such importers do not import any goods mined, produced,
or manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor
from the People's Republic of China, especially from
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
(B) the type, nature, and extent of evidence that
demonstrates that goods originating in the People's
Republic of China were not mined, produced, or
manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region; and
(C) the type, nature, and extent of evidence that
demonstrates that goods originating in the People's
Republic of China, including goods detained or seized
pursuant to section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19
U.S.C. 1307), were not mined, produced, or manufactured
wholly or in part with forced labor.
(6) A plan to coordinate and collaborate with appropriate
nongovernmental organizations and private sector entities to
implement and update the strategy developed under subsection
(c).
(e) Submission of Strategy.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 270 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the
Secretary of Labor, the United States Trade Representative, and
the Secretary of State, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that--
(A) in the case of the first such report, sets
forth the strategy developed under subsection (c); and
(B) in the case of any subsequent such report, sets
forth any updates to the strategy.
(2) Updates of certain matters.--Not less frequently than
annually after the submission under paragraph (1)(A) of the
strategy developed under subsection (c), the Secretary shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees updates to
the strategy with respect to the matters described in clauses
(i) through (vi) of subsection (d)(2)(B).
(3) Form of report.--Each report required by paragraph (1)
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex, if necessary.
(4) Public availability.--The unclassified portion of each
report required by paragraph (1) shall be made available to the
public.
(f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed
to limit the application of regulations in effect on or measures taken
before the date of the enactment of this Act to prevent the importation
of goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with forced
labor into the United States, including withhold release orders issued
before such date of enactment.
SEC. 5. REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION THAT IMPORT PROHIBITION APPLIES TO GOODS
MINED, PRODUCED, OR MANUFACTURED IN THE XINJIANG UYGHUR
AUTONOMOUS REGION OR BY CERTAIN ENTITIES.
(a) In General.--The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection shall, except as provided by subsection (b), apply a
presumption that, with respect to any goods, wares, articles, and
merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China or
produced by an entity on a list required by clause (i), (iii), or (iv)
of section 4(d)(2)(B)--
(1) the importation of such goods, wares, articles, and
merchandise is prohibited under section 307 of the Tariff Act
of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307); and
(2) such goods, wares, articles, and merchandise are not
entitled to entry at any of the ports of the United States.
(b) Exceptions.--The Commissioner shall apply the presumption under
subsection (a) unless the Commissioner determines that--
(1) the importer of record has--
(A) fully complied with the guidance described in
section 4(d)(5) and any regulations issued to implement
that guidance; and
(B) completely and substantively responded to all
inquiries for information submitted by the Commissioner
to ascertain whether the goods were mined, produced, or
manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor; and
(2) the good was not mined, produced, or manufactured
wholly or in part by forced labor.
(c) Report Required.--Not less frequently than every 180 days, the
Commissioner shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees
and make available to the public a report that lists all instances in
which the Commissioner declined to apply the presumption under
subsection (a) during the preceding 180-day period.
(d) Regulations.--The Commissioner may prescribe regulations--
(1) to implement paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b);
or
(2) to amend any other regulations relating to withhold
release orders in order to implement this section.
(e) Effective Date.--This section takes effect on the date that is
300 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 6. DIPLOMATIC STRATEGY TO ADDRESS FORCED LABOR IN THE XINJIANG
UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that includes a United
States strategy to promote initiatives to enhance international
awareness of and to address forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The Secretary shall include in the
report required by subsection (a) the following:
(1) A plan to enhance bilateral and multilateral
coordination, including sustained engagement with the
governments of countries that are partners and allies of the
United States, to end the use of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz,
Tibetans, and members of other persecuted groups in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region for forced labor.
(2) A description of public affairs, public diplomacy, and
counter-messaging efforts to promote awareness of the human
rights situation, including with respect to forced labor, in
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
(3) A plan--
(A) to coordinate and collaborate with appropriate
nongovernmental organizations and private sector
entities to raise awareness about goods mined,
produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with forced
labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; and
(B) to provide humanitarian assistance, including
with respect to resettlement and advocacy for
imprisoned family members, to Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz,
Tibetans, and members of other persecuted groups,
including members of such groups formerly detained in
mass internment camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region.
(c) Additional Matters To Be Included.--The Secretary shall include
in the report required by subsection (a), based on consultations with
the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the
Secretary of the Treasury, the following:
(1) To the extent practicable, a list of--
(A) entities in the People's Republic of China or
affiliates of such entities that use or benefit from
forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
and
(B) foreign persons that act as agents of the
entities or affiliates described in subparagraph (A) to
import goods into the United States.
(2) A plan for working with private sector entities seeking
to conduct supply chain due diligence to prevent the
importation of goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or
in part with forced labor into the United States.
(3) A description of actions taken by the United States
Government to address forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region under existing authorities, including--
(A) the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
(22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.);
(B) the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities
Prevention Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-441; 22 U.S.C.
2656 note); and
(C) the Global Magnitsky Human Rights
Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public
Law 114-328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note).
(d) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted
in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex, if necessary.
SEC. 7. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS RELATING TO FORCED LABOR IN THE
XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.
(a) In General.--Section 6(a)(1) of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy
Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-145; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(F) Serious human rights abuses in connection
with forced labor.''.
(b) Effective Date; Applicability.--The amendment made by
subsection (a)--
(1) takes effect on the date of the enactment of this Act;
and
(2) applies with respect to the first report required by
section 6(a)(1) of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020
submitted after such date of enactment.
(c) Transition Rule.--
(1) Interim report.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the
committees specified in section 6(a)(1) of the Uyghur Human
Rights Policy Act of 2020 a report that identifies each foreign
person, including any official of the Government of the
People's Republic of China, that the President determines is
responsible for serious human rights abuses in connection with
forced labor with respect to Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or
members of other Muslim minority groups, or other persons in
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
(2) Imposition of sanctions.--The President shall impose
sanctions under subsection (c) of section 6 of the Uyghur Human
Rights Policy Act of 2020 with respect to each foreign person
identified in the report required by paragraph (1), subject to
the provisions of subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g) of that
section.
SEC. 8. SUNSET.
Sections 4, 5, and 6 shall cease to have effect on the earlier of--
(1) the date that is 8 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act; or
(2) the date on which the President submits to the
appropriate congressional committees a determination that the
Government of the People's Republic of China has ended mass
internment, forced labor, and any other gross violations of
human rights experienced by Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans,
and members of other persecuted groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region.
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee
on Financial Services, the Committee on Ways and Means,
and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the
Committee on Finance, and the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
(2) Forced labor.--The term ``forced labor''--
(A) has the meaning given that term in section 307
of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307); and
(B) includes convict labor and indentured labor
under penal sanctions.
(3) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a
person that is not a United States person.
(4) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or
entity.
(5) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully
admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
or
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the
United States or any jurisdiction within the United
States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.
Passed the Senate July 14, 2021.
Attest:
Secretary.
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 65
_______________________________________________________________________
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.