[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 320 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 320

To prohibit the entry into the United States of items produced, grown, 
   or manufactured in the People's Republic of China with the use of 
                             forced labor.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 1997

 Mr. Solomon introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit the entry into the United States of items produced, grown, 
   or manufactured in the People's Republic of China with the use of 
                             forced labor.

    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 ``Chinese Slave Labor Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF ARTICLES MADE WITH FORCED LABOR.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
article that is the product, growth, or manufacture of the People's 
Republic of China shall enter or be imported into the United States 
unless--
            (1) the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this 
        section referred to as the ``Secretary'') determines that such 
        article is not the product, growth, or manufacture of forced 
        labor; and
            (2) such determination is based on consultations described 
        in subsection (b) and a certification submitted to the 
        Secretary in accordance with subsection (c).
    (b) Right of Inspection and Consultation.--The United States shall 
use all diplomatic efforts to persuade the People's Republic of China 
to permit representatives of international humanitarian and 
intergovernmental organizations, such as the International Labor 
Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross, to 
periodically inspect all camps, prisons, and other facilities holding 
detainees in that country, and the Secretary shall consult with 
representatives of such organizations to assure that products of the 
People's Republic of China which are for export are not being produced 
with the use of forced labor.
    (c) Certification.--The Secretary shall prescribe the form and 
content of the certification (including documentation) for submission 
in connection with any article that is the product, growth, or 
manufacture of the People's Republic of China that satisfies the 
Secretary that the importer has taken steps to ensure that such article 
was not produced, grown, or manufactured with the use of forced labor.
    (d) Penalties.--
            (1) Unlawful acts.--It is unlawful to--
                    (A) enter or import into the United States any 
                article if such entry or importation is prohibited 
                under subsection (a), or
                    (B) make a false certification under subsection 
                (c).
            (2) Civil penalties.--Any person or entity who violates 
        paragraph (1) shall be subject to a civil penalty of--
                    (A) not more than $10,000 for the first violation,
                    (B) not more than $100,000 for the second 
                violation, and
                    (C) not more than $1,000,000 for any subsequent 
                violation.
            (3) Construction.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        unlawful acts described in paragraph (1) shall be treated as 
        violations of the customs laws for purposes of applying 
        sections 581 through 641 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
        1581 through 1641).
    (e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            (1) Forced labor.--The term ``forced labor'' means any work 
        or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of 
        any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker 
        does not offer himself or herself voluntarily.
            (2) Product, growth, or manufactured article.--An article 
        shall be treated as being a product, growth, or manufacture of 
        forced labor if the article--
                    (A) was fabricated, assembled, or processed, in 
                whole or in part,
                    (B) contains any part that was fabricated, 
                assembled, or processed in whole or in part, or
                    (C) was grown, harvested, mined, quarried, pumped, 
                or extracted,
        with the use of forced labor.
            (3) Enter or import.--The terms ``enter'' or ``import'' 
        into the United States means entered, or withdrawn from 
        warehouse for consumption, in the customs territory of the 
        United States.
                                 <all>