[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6270 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6270
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
March 12, 2020
Ms. Wexton (for herself, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Norton, and Mr. Carson of
Indiana) 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
of 2020''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Since early 2017, the Government of the People's
Republic of China has conducted a policy of disappearance, mass
internment, and imprisonment of Turkic Muslims, particularly
Uyghurs, in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
(2) Since 2014, Chinese authorities have detained between
800,000 and possibly up to three million Uyghurs, ethnic
Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other ethnic minorities in forced
education, training, and labor camps.
(3) The bi-partisan, bi-cameral Congressional-Executive
Commission on China's 2019 Annual Report found numerous reports
of forced labor associated with government repression of ethnic
minority groups in the XUAR. Detainees performed forced labor
in factories both within and outside of internment camps in
XUAR.
(4) Radio Free Asia reported in January 2019 that
authorities had also sent Uyghurs and Kazakhs from the XUAR to
other provinces in China for forced labor.
(5) Comments in March 2018 from the president of the China
National Textile and Apparel Council suggested that textile
manufacturers were working with XUAR authorities to exploit
forced labor.
(6) Companies that work in the XUAR are at great risk of
complicity in the human rights abuses being committed in the
region.
(7) In a March 2020 report, the Australian Strategic Policy
Institute identified 27 factories in nine Chinese provinces
that are using Uyghur labor transferred from Xinjiang. These
factories indirectly supply global brands, including many
American multinational companies.
(8) Forced labor in XUAR is Chinese government policy and
due diligence efforts to ensure clean supply chains is nearly
impossible due to mass surveillance, pervasive police presence,
and intimidation of workers.
(9) The human rights policies, practices, and impacts of
publicly traded companies in the United States are material to
securities reporting.
(10) An increasing percentage of investors consider human
rights risks as a part of their investment decision-making
process.
SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN ACTIVITIES RELATING TO THE XINJIANG
UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.
Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(s) 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 import--
``(i) manufactured goods, including
electronics, food products, textiles, shoes,
and teas, that originated in the XUAR; or
``(ii) manufactured goods containing
materials that originated or are sourced in the
XUAR;
``(B) with respect to any goods or materials
described under subparagraph (A), whether the goods or
material originated in forced labor camps; and
``(C) with respect to each manufactured good or
material described under subparagraph (A)--
``(i) the nature and extent of the
commercial activity related to such good or
material;
``(ii) the gross revenue and net profits,
if any, attributable to the good or material;
and
``(iii) whether the issuer or the affiliate
of the issuer intends to continue with such
importation.
``(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) Reports.--
``(A) Annual report to congress.--The Commission
shall--
``(i) conduct an annual assessment of the
compliance of issuers with the requirements of
this subsection; and
``(ii) issue a report to Congress
containing the results of the assessment
required under clause (i).
``(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 disclosure requirements under this
subsection.
``(4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Forced labor camp.--The term `forced labor
camp' means--
``(i) any entity engaged in the `pairing
assistance' program which subsidizes the
establishment of manufacturing facilities in
XUAR;
``(ii) any entity using convict labor,
forced labor, or indentured labor described
under section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19
U.S.C. 1307); and
``(iii) any other entity that the
Commission determines is appropriate.
``(B) XUAR.--The term `XUAR' means the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region.''.
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