The U.S. is stepping up pressure on China over its oppression of the Uighurs. The U.S. Senate initiated a ban on the import of all products from the province of Xinjiang. This also puts companies under pressure.
"We will not turn a blind eye to the Chinese Communist Party's ongoing crimes against humanity, and we will not allow corporations to have a free pass to profit from these horrific abuses." That's how Republican Senator Marco Rubio justified a bill that the U.S. Senate introduced Wednesday. The bill would ban the import of goods from China's Xinjiang region because of its treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority.
"No American company should profit from these abuses. No American consumer should inadvertently buy products made with slave labor," said Democrat Jeff Merkley, who helped introduce the bill.
Proof burden on importers
The "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act" ("Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act") would create a "rebuttable presumption" that goods produced in Xinjiang are made with forced labor and are therefore prohibited under the Tariff Act of 1930. The measure, passed unanimously by Democrats and Republicans, would shift the burden of proof to importers.
Currently, the import of goods is prohibited only if there is sufficient evidence of forced labor. The U.S. has already banned the import of tomatoes, cotton, and some solar products from Xinjiang province. read more