US Senate Passes a Bill that Bans Products from China's Xinjiang Region

The bipartisan bill, which was passed by unanimous agreement, would shift the burden of evidence on importers. The present law prohibits products from entering the country if there is credible proof of forced labor.

(Photo : Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio authored the bill that banned products from China's Xinjiang region.

U.S. Senate Passed the 'Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act'

In a recently published article in MSN News, on Wednesday, the United States Senate passed legislation prohibiting the purchase of goods from China's Xinjiang province, the latest attempt in Washington to penalize Beijing for what US authorities believe is an ongoing genocide against Uyghurs and other Muslim communities.

Unless otherwise verified by US authorities, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act would establish a "rebuttable presumption" that products produced in Xinjiang are created using forced labor and therefore prohibited under the 1930 Tariff Act.

Before being submitted to the White House for President Joe Biden's signature, the measure must also pass the House of Representatives, according to a published article in NDTV. It was not immediately apparent when this would happen.

Lawmakers Call on the House to Act Quickly

Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley who presented the bill and urged the House to move swiftly. The present law prohibits products from entering the country if there is credible proof of forced labor.

Sen. Rubio said they will neither turn a blind eye to the CCP's continuing crimes against humanity, nor will they let businesses benefit from those atrocities, according to a recently published article in SCMP.

Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Merkley also released a statement and said there should be no benefit for any American company as a result of the wrongdoings of Communist country and no American consumer should accidentally buy goods made by slaves.

Bill Expected to Get Strong Support in the House

Aides of the Democratic and Republican lawmakers predicted significant support for the bill in the House, noting that a similar bill passed almost unanimously last year, according to a published article in Reuters.

The bill would go above and beyond current measures to protect U.S. supply chains in the face of accusations of human rights violations in China, such as restrictions on Xinjiang tomatoes, cotton, and certain solar goods.

The Biden administration has tightened sanctions and released an advice on Tuesday warning companies that if their activities are even remotely connected to monitoring networks in Xinjiang, they may be breaking the U.S. law.

China Prepared for More Sanctions

China is bracing for further penalties after the US added 23 Chinese companies to its export blacklist last week, but analysts and government advisors believe Beijing would be careful in its response given its unwillingness to promote full-scale technological decoupling.

Furthermore, Beijing vehemently rejects human rights violations in the far west, and sees Washington's penalties as part of an attempt to rein in China's technical advancement and rising strength.

Last Friday, 22 businesses and one individual were sanctioned for their roles in artificial intelligence and security technologies. Fourteen were sanctioned for alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang, five for connections to the Chinese military, and four more for conducting business with U.S.-sanctioned companies.