[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 123 (Wednesday, July 14, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4905-S4908]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UYGHUR FORCED LABOR PREVENTION ACT
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
[[Page S4906]]
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 87, S. 65.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 65) 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.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill,
which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations, with
an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following
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.
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(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:
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(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.
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to and that the bill,
as amended, be considered read a third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was
agreed to.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read
the third time.
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the bill,
as amended.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there is no further debate, the bill having
been read the third time, the question is, Shall the bill pass?
The bill (S. 65), as amended, was passed.
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion
to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________