The US Senate on Wednesday passed legislation to ban imports of products from China’s Xinjiang region, the latest attempt in Washington to punish Beijing for what US officials say is an ongoing genocide against Uighurs and other Muslim groups.
The Uighur Forced Labor Prevention Act would create a “refutable presumption”, assuming that goods manufactured in Xinjiang are made of forced labor and are therefore prohibited under the Tariff Act of 1930, unless certified otherwise by US authorities .
Passed unanimously, the bipartisan measure would shift the burden of proof for importers. The existing rule prohibits goods if there is reasonable evidence of forced labour.
The bill also has to be passed by the House of Representatives before President Joe Biden can send it to the White House for signing into law. It was not immediately clear when this might happen.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who introduced the legislation with Democrat Jeff Merkle, called on the House to act quickly.
“We will not turn a blind eye to the CCP’s ongoing crimes against humanity, and we will not allow free passes for corporations to profit from those horrific abuses,” Rubio said in a statement.
“No American corporation should profit from these abuses. No American consumer should unintentionally buy a product from slave labor,” Merkle said.
Democratic and Republican aides said they expected the measure to have strong support in the House, noting that the House almost unanimously approved a similar measure last year.
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