US bill seeks ‘enhanced’ sanctions against Uyghur genocide

A bill introduced in the US Senate on Wednesday would force companies to disclose links to Uyghur forced labor to the Securities and Exchange Commission and provide funds for those who have fled the Xinjiang region to counteract Chinese propaganda.

It follows the passage Thursday of a bill in the French Senate urging the European Union to copy a U.S. ban on the importation of goods linked to Uyghur forced labor, which French lawmakers say has sidetracked many of these goods to the single European market.

In addition to requiring SEC filing, the new US Senate bill would expand existing travel restrictions for Chinese officials linked to the genocide and provide more funding for “outreach initiatives to counter Chinese propaganda,” according to Press release.

Introduced by Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, and Senator Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, the Uyghur Genocide Penalty and Accountability Act would also provide funding for ongoing Uyghur language and cultural preservation projects.

“Building on current legislation, this bicameral bill aims to improve the application of secondary sanctions to companies that offer assistance to the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing atrocities against Uyghurs,” Rubio said in the press release.

If passed, the bill would help plug holes in the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act of 2021 and impose additional penalties against those who profit from Uyghur slave labor, Rubio and Merkley said.

But to become law, it still has to go through a committee in the Senate before being voted on by the full House, and then also go through the House, where it’s sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith, a New York Republican. . Sweater.

french bill

On the other side of the Atlantic, French senators unanimously approved a resolution on Thursday calling for the European version of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Law to ban imports linked to slave labor.

Senator Mélanie Vogel, who represents Europe Ecology – The Greens for the constituency of French citizens living abroad, told Radio Free Asia that her party introduced the legislation to put pressure on EU officials.

Under Europe’s single market, the 27 individual EU member states do not have the power to unilaterally change trade policy, with laws on imports and exports unified across the European Union.

“This resolution basically calls for the introduction of a very efficient mechanism at the EU level that would ban products made with forced labor,” Vogel said. “Basically, you are asking the French government to push this position at the EU level.”

She said an existing EU proposal on the issue only seeks to ban imports of goods after they are shown to be linked to slave labor in a lengthy legal process. But the French Senate preferred a ban “based on the mechanism that was introduced in the US,” she said, which assumes that products made in Xinjiang involve slave labor.

“Therefore, putting the burden of proof on companies that want to export goods to the EU market, and not on human rights activists to prove that there are actually human rights violations,” he said. “They have to show that they did not use forced labor.”

EU coordination

Such a bill is needed after a 2021 US law diverted many products made in Xinjiang to Europe, said Dilnur Reyhan, director of the European Uyghur Institute and a professor of Uyghur studies at the National Institute of Oriental Languages ​​and Civilizations in Paris.

“Products made with Uyghur forced labor that were unable to enter the US are reaching the European market. That is why it is extremely critical that such legislation needs to be passed in Europe as well,” Reyhan told RFA, noting that it was only the initial step.

“A resolution like this from each EU member state is important to put pressure on their governments. To have a real impact, all 27 EU member states would have to pass unified legislation.

Edited by Alex Willemyns and Malcolm Foster.