[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4840 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4840
To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require issuers to make
certain disclosures relating to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 24, 2023
Ms. Wexton (for herself, Mr. Gimenez, Mr. Carson, Mr. Connolly, Mr.
Espaillat, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Pelosi, Ms. Sanchez,
Mr. Sherman, Ms. Sherrill, and Ms. Titus) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require issuers to make
certain disclosures relating to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,
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 Disclosure
Act''.
SEC. 2. CERTIFICATION OF CERTAIN ACTIVITIES RELATING TO THE XINJIANG
UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION AS PROCEDURE FOR REGISTRATION OF
SECURITIES ON AN EXCHANGE.
(a) In General.--Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(15 U.S.C. 78l) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(m) Reporting of Certain Activities Relating to the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than the end of the 180-day
period beginning on the date of enactment of this subsection,
the Commission shall issue rules--
``(A) to require an issuer filing an application to
register a security with a national securities exchange
to--
``(i) include in such application the
documentation described under paragraph (2);
and
``(ii) to file the application and
documentation with the Commission;
``(B) to require an issuer to file a report with
the Commission containing the documentation described
under paragraph (2) if the issuer is not listed on an
exchange and merges with another issuer that is listed
on the exchange; and
``(C) to require an issuer filing a registration
statement under subsection (g) to include with such
statement the documentation described under paragraph
(2).
``(2) Documentation required.--With respect to an issuer,
the documentation described under this paragraph is
documentation showing whether the issuer or any affiliate of
the issuer, directly or indirectly, contains within its supply
or production chain--
``(A) goods, wares, articles, or merchandise
sourced from or through the XUAR, or mined, produced,
or manufactured wholly or in part by forced labor
identified by mandate of section 2(d)(2)(B)(iv) of
Public Law 117-78, including--
``(i) the industries contained on the
`Illustrative List of Industries in Xinjiang in
which Public Reporting has indicated Labor
Abuses may be Taking Place' in Annex 2 of the
`Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory'
(published July 13, 2021) and any successor
list; and
``(ii) all products listed within `high-
priority sectors for enforcement' by the Forced
Labor Enforcement Task Force pursuant to Public
Law 117-78; or
``(B) goods, wares, articles, or merchandise that
are mined, produced, or manufactured by an entity
engaged in labor transfers from the XUAR or forced
labor.
``(3) Transparent documentation of supply chain links.--In
issuing rules under paragraph (1), the Commission shall require
an issuer to list the name (in English and in the most
commonly-spoken language of the country in which the issuer is
incorporated, if other than English), address, and sourcing
quantities from each smelter, refinery, farm, or manufacturing
facility (as appropriate) of each person mining, producing, or
manufacturing a good, ware, article, or merchandise described
under paragraph (2).
``(4) Independent verification of documentation.--In
issuing rules under paragraph (1), the Commission shall require
an issuer--
``(A) to obtain independent verification of the
documentation described under paragraph (2), by a
third-party auditor approved by the Commission, before
the filing of an application, report, or registration
statement containing such documentation;
``(B) to maintain the confidentiality of the
identity of such third-party auditor, unless the
auditor proactively waives confidentiality; and
``(C) to establish policies to respond to any
reprisals against the third-party auditor.
``(5) Public availability of documentation.--The Commission
shall make all documentation received under this subsection
available to the public.
``(6) Additional penalties for certain violations.--In
addition to other penalties provided under this Act, with
respect to an application described under paragraph (1)(A), if
an issuer fails to comply with the requirements of this
subsection (including any misrepresentation of the information
described under paragraph (3))--
``(A) the applicable national securities exchange
may not approve such application; and
``(B) the issuer may not re-file the application
for 1 year.
``(7) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Forced labor.--The term `forced labor'
means--
``(i) any labor carried out by the Uyghur,
Kazakh, Kyrgyz, or another oppressed ethnic
group in the People's Republic of China under
any State-sponsored labor program, including
any program associated with `surplus labor
transfer', `poverty alleviation', `mutual aid',
`Xinjiang Aid', and re-education programs
targeting minoritized citizens of the XUAR,
whether inside or outside;
``(ii) any labor carried out in the XUAR
unless the specific labor has been identified
by the United States authorities under existing
forced labor and the Uyghur protection laws as
not involving the use of forced labor; and
``(iii) any use of convict labor, forced
labor, or indentured labor described under
section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19
U.S.C. 1307).
``(B) XUAR.--The term `XUAR' means the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region.''.
(b) Repeal.--The amendment made by this section shall be repealed
on the earlier of--
(1) the date that is 8 years after the date of the
enactment of this section; or
(2) the date on which the President submits to Congress
(including the Office of the Law Revision Council) 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, and members of other persecuted groups in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN ACTIVITIES RELATING TO THE XINJIANG
UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.
(a) In General.--Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(15 U.S.C. 78m) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(t) Disclosure of Certain Activities Relating to the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than the end of the 180-day
period beginning on the date of enactment of this subsection,
the Commission shall issue rules to require each issuer
required to file an annual report under this section or section
15(d) or a proxy statement under section 14 to disclose in each
such report or proxy statement whether, during the period
covered by the report or proxy statement--
``(A) the issuer or any affiliate of the issuer,
directly or indirectly, engaged with an entity or the
affiliate of an entity to use or source goods, wares,
articles, or merchandise sourced from or through the
XUAR, or mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in
part by forced labor identified by mandate of section
2(d)(2)(B)(iv) of Public Law 117-78, including--
``(i) the industries contained on the
`Illustrative List of Industries in Xinjiang in
which Public Reporting has indicated Labor
Abuses may be Taking Place' in Annex 2 of the
`Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory'
(published July 13, 2021) and any successor
list;
``(ii) all products listed as `high-
priority sectors for enforcement' by the Forced
Labor Enforcement Task Force pursuant to Public
Law 117-78; and
``(iii) all products exported from the
People's Republic of China into the United
States that are listed by mandate of section
2(d)(2)(B)(iv) of Public Law 117-78 that are
sourced from or through the XUAR; or
``(B) with respect to any goods, wares, articles,
or merchandise described under subparagraph (A),
whether the goods, wares, articles, or merchandise have
supply chain links to facilities that employ forced
labor;
``(C) with respect to each good, ware, article, and
merchandise described under subparagraph (A)--
``(i) the nature and extent of the
commercial activity related to the good, ware,
article, or merchandise;
``(ii) the gross revenue and net profits,
if any, attributable to the good, ware,
article, or merchandise;
``(iii) the alternative sourcing options
for the good, ware, article, or merchandise,
while protecting proprietary information of the
issuer and any other cited business;
``(iv) a description of the measures taken
by the issuer to exercise due diligence on the
source and chain of custody of the good, ware,
article, or merchandise; and
``(v) other entities and facilities
affiliated with the facility employing forced
labor, including the physical location of such
facilities and of the supplier entity's
headquarters; and
``(D) the issuer or any affiliate of the issuer,
directly or indirectly, was involved in the development
or provision of surveillance goods, services, or
technologies (including telecommunications, information
security, and sensors) used to facilitate gross human
rights abuses.
``(2) Availability of information.--The Commission shall
make all information disclosed pursuant to this subsection
available to the public on the website of the Commission.
``(3) Definitions.--In this subsection, the terms `forced
labor' and `XUAR' have the meaning given those terms,
respectively, under section 12(m)(8).''.
(b) Repeal.--The amendment made by this section shall be repealed
on the earlier of--
(1) the date that is 8 years after the date of the
enactment of this section; or
(2) the date on which the President submits to Congress
(including the Office of the Law Revision Council) 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, and members of other persecuted groups in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
SEC. 4. REPORTS.
(a) Securities and Exchange Commission Annual Report to Congress.--
The Securities and Exchange Commission shall--
(1) conduct an annual assessment of the compliance of
issuers with the requirements of section 12(m) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on--
(A) issuers described under paragraph (1)(A) of
such section 12(m);
(B) issuers described under paragraph (1)(B) of
such section 12(m); and
(C) issuers described under paragraph (1)(C) of
such section 12(m);
(2) conduct an annual assessment of the compliance of
issuers with the requirements of section 13(t) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and
(3) issue a report to Congress containing the results of
the assessments under paragraph (1) and (2).
(b) GAO Report.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall
periodically evaluate and report to Congress on the effectiveness of
the oversight by the Commission of the certification requirements under
section 12(m) and section 13(t) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
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