| 7.13.22

Bipartisan Law Banning Imports Made With Uyghur Forced Labor in China's Xinjiang Region Takes Effect

Are you in favor of banning imports made with Uyghur forced labor in Xinjiang, China?

The U.S. is now enforcing a bipartisan law that bans imports from the Xinjiang region of China that are presumed to have been made with forced labor from Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities held in concentration camps. Xinjiang is a significant source of cotton for global suppliers, in addition to materials that play a key role in making solar panels.
The Chinese Community Party’s treatment of Uyghurs and other minorities constitutes a “genocide” according to the U.S., Britain, Canada, and a number of other countries. China has imprisoned between 800,000 to 2 million Uyghurs in labor and reeducation camps; forced them to renounce Islam; subjected them to beatings, torture, and rape; performed forced abortions and sterilizations; and indoctrinated them with communist propaganda.

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which passed Congress last year following a voice vote by the House and with unanimous consent in the Senate, sanctions foreign individuals and companies involved with the use of forced labor in Xinjiang.
The law took effect on June 21, 2022, and bans all imports from the Xinjiang region through a presumption that products made there in part or in whole are tainted by forced labor. The presumption means that companies seeking to import goods from Xinjiang must show U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “clear and convincing evidence” that their supply chains are free from forced labor.
When companies provide clear and convincing evidence to rebut that presumption, an exception can be granted to allow the imports to enter the U.S., which would prompt notification to Congress within 30 days that’s subject to public disclosure.
The law also contains a provision requiring the coordination of enforcement with Canada and Mexico under the terms of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The coordination mechanism aims to prevent importers from circumventing the restrictions on imports from Xinjiang.

The Chinese Communist Party’s use of forced labor in Xinjiang is likely to impact a number of industries, as it’s one of the world’s most significant cotton-producing regions and also supplies key materials in solar panels. About 50% of the world’s polysilicon, which is a key material in producing solar panels, came from the Xinjiang region in 2021.
Just days after the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act took effect, CBP issued a “withhold release” order that requires the immediate detention of shipments containing silica-based products made by a company called Hoshine Silicon Industry Co. Ltd., and its subsidiaries and used in solar panels and other electronics. CBP identified the use of forced labor in Hoshine’s production process, including the use of intimidation and threats, and restriction of movement.
Other withhold release orders related to Xinjiang that were previously put into force include those related to cotton and tomato products.