Title: Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act
This bill imposes importation limits on goods produced using forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China and imposes sanctions related to such forced labor.
The Department of Homeland Security shall report to Congress a strategy for preventing the importation of goods produced in Xinjiang using forced labor. The strategy must contain certain information, including a list of entities working with the government in Xinjiang to move forced labor or Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of Xinjiang.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall generally presume that goods produced by these entities are barred from importation into the United States.
The bill also expands existing asset- and visa-blocking sanctions related to Xinjiang to cover foreign individuals and entities responsible for serious human rights abuses in connection with forced labor.
The Department of State shall report to Congress (1) an assessment of whether human rights abuses committed by China's government against persecuted groups in Xinjiang constitute genocide under U.S. law, and (2) a strategy to enhance international awareness of forced labor in Xinjiang and to address such forced labor.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 65 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 27, 2021

  Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Risch, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. 
Cotton, Ms. Warren, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Hassan, Ms. Collins, Ms. Klobuchar, 
Mr. Romney, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Daines, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Moran, Mr. 
Warner, Mr. Lankford, Ms. Smith, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Booker, Mr. Scott 
 of Florida, Mr. Markey, Mr. Thune, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Braun, Mr. Sasse, 
    Mr. Young, Mr. Coons, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Cruz) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  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, 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) In addition to reports from researchers and civil 
        society groups 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, and members 
        of other persecuted groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous 
        Region''.
            (4) The Government of the People's Republic of China 
        interferes with audits and traditional due diligence efforts to 
        vet goods and supply chains in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous 
        Region to hinder identifying goods made in whole or part with 
        forced labor, including by intimidating potential witnesses and 
        concealing relevant information.
            (5) Reports cited by the Department of Labor estimate that 
        hundreds of thousands of ex-detainees who are Uyghurs, Kazakhs, 
        Kyrgyz, 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 
        prison or 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 
        ``[a]ll 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 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 Homeland Security, 
        in consultation with the United States Trade Representative, 
        the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Labor, shall 
        publish in the Federal Register a notice soliciting public 
        comments on how best to ensure that goods made with forced 
        labor in the People's Republic of China, including by Uyghurs, 
        Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other persecuted groups in the 
        Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of 
        China, are not imported into the United States.
            (2) Period for comment.--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 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 made with forced labor into the United States from the 
        People's Republic of China.
            (2) Measures described.--The measures described in this 
        paragraph are--
                    (A) measures that can be taken to trace goods or to 
                prevent goods from leaving the People's Republic of 
                China; and
                    (B) other measures for ensuring that goods made 
                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 Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Labor, the United States Trade Representative, the Secretary of State, 
and the Director of National Intelligence, shall develop a strategy for 
preventing the importation into the United States of goods made with 
forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
    (d) Elements.--The strategy developed under subsection (c) shall 
include the following:
            (1) A comprehensive assessment of the risk of the 
        possibility of importing goods made with forced labor from the 
        People's Republic of China, including from the Xinjiang Uyghur 
        Autonomous Region or made by Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, 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 of 
                goods made with forced labor into the United States; 
                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'' programs that include the forced labor of 
                Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, 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, or members of 
                other persecuted groups through the threat of penalty 
                or for which the Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, 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; and
                            (ii) a list of goods made with such labor 
                        for importation to the United States.
            (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) best practices or effective due diligence 
                measures to ensure that such importers do not import 
                any goods made with forced labor from the Xinjiang 
                Uyghur Autonomous Region; and
                    (B) the type, nature, and extent of evidence that 
                demonstrates that imported goods detained or seized 
                pursuant to section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 
                U.S.C. 1307) were not made with forced labor.
    (e) Submission of Strategy.--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--
            (1) in the case of the first such report, sets forth the 
        strategy developed under subsection (c); and
            (2) in the case of any subsequent such report, sets forth 
        any updates to the strategy.
    (f) Form of Report.--Each report required by subsection (e) shall 
be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex, 
if necessary.
    (g) Public Availability.--The unclassified portion of each report 
required by subsection (e) shall be made available to the public.

SEC. 5. REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION THAT IMPORT PROHIBITION APPLIES TO GOODS 
              PRODUCED IN THE XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.

    (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 significant 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 entities on a list required by section 
4(d)(2)(B)(i)--
            (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 manufactured 
                through forced labor;
            (2) the good was not produced wholly or in part by forced 
        labor; or
            (3) the President certifies that the Government of the 
        People's Republic of China is not impeding in any way attempts 
        to investigate abuses of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members 
        of other persecuted groups or to address any other instances of 
        forced labor in the People's Republic of China.
    (c) 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.
    (d) Effective Date.--This section takes effect on the date that is 
300 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. DETERMINATION RELATING TO ATROCITIES AND GENOCIDE IN THE 
              XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report setting forth the formal 
determination of the Secretary with respect to whether--
            (1) the human rights abuses committed by the Government of 
        the People's Republic of China against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, 
        Kyrgyz, and members of other persecuted groups in the Xinjiang 
        Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China 
        constitute genocide within the meaning of section 1091(a) of 
        title 18, United States Code; and
            (2) the actions taken by the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China in support of the use of forced labor against 
        Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other persecuted 
        groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region constitute an 
        atrocity within the meaning of the term ``atrocities'' as 
        defined in section 6 of the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities 
        Prevention Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-441; 22 U.S.C. 2656 
        note).
    (b) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted 
in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex, if necessary.
    (c) Public Availability.--The unclassified portion of each report 
required by subsection (a) shall be made available to the public.

SEC. 7. 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, 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 made 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, 
                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 made 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. 8. 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. 9. SUNSET.

    Sections 4, 5, and 7 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, and 
        members of other persecuted groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur 
        Autonomous Region.

SEC. 10. 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) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a 
        person that is not a United States person.
            (3) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or 
        entity.
            (4) 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.
                                 <all>