All goods produced in China’s Xinjiang region would be prohibited from being imported into the United States under a bill introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, Feb. 18.

Rep. James McGovern of Massachusetts has spearheaded the introduction of legislation that would ban products from Xinjiang.

If implemented, the move has the potential to cause supply chain challenges across a variety of industries, including promotional products.

Still, proponents of the proposed ban said that it’s absolutely necessary to help combat what they believe is widespread human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

Rep. James McGovern, the Democrat from Massachusetts who spearheaded the proposed ban, said strong evidence exists that up to 1.8 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Hui and other predominately Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang have been arbitrarily detained in a system of extrajudicial mass internment camps where they are subjected to forced labor, torture and political indoctrination.

Many of us have been horrified by the Chinese government's mass internment camps targeting Uyghurs & Muslims.

The Xinjiang economy is built upon a foundation of forced labor & repression. Corporations shouldn't be complicit in violating of the human rights of the Uyghur people.

— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) February 18, 2021

“Many U.S., international and Chinese corporations are complicit in the exploitation of forced labor and these products continue to make their way into global supply chains and our country,” McGovern said. “It is long past time for the Congress to act.”

In 2020, McGovern introduced similar legislation. It passed the House in a 406-3 vote, but never became law. Ultimately, the newly introduced Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act would need approval from the House and Senate, plus the signature of President Joe Biden, to go into effect.

“Despite international condemnation, the Chinese government’s brutal campaign of repressive surveillance, mass detention, forced labor and even genocide in Xinjiang is rapidly expanding, and we must take steps to ensure U.S. companies and unwary consumers are not complicit in the abuses,” said Rep. Jennifer Wexton, a Democrat from Virginia who co-introduced the legislation. “Goods made with forced labor have no place on U.S. store shelves.”

Tomato and cotton products from Xinjiang, a northwestern region of China, are already banned from entering the U.S. Those restrictions have implications for the North American promotional products industry, as they’re poised to help accelerate price increases on cotton, which in turn could make cotton-containing products, like apparel, that promo firms sell more expensive.

#Xinjiang cotton & products made from it are now banned in the US. That could impact supply chains, drive price increases & influence product preference in #promoproducts space https://t.co/vLI7hu9n2u @ASI_MBell @Tim_Andrews_ASI @asicentral

— Chris Ruvo (@ChrisR_ASI) January 14, 2021

Those who haven’t done so, or who have only just begun, would be wise to accelerate the cutting of any ties to Xinjiang in anticipation of a potential ban on all products, which appears to enjoy bipartisan support in Congress, industry executives have said.

“Congress must hold the Chinese government accountable and give a strong voice to the millions of Muslim Uyghurs who are victims of genocide, rape, torture, forced marriages, reeducation camps and other gross violations of human rights,” said Rep. Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey who co-introduced the legislation prohibiting imports from Xinjiang.

Under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, products from Xinjiang could only enter the U.S. if the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection certifies that the goods have not been produced, either wholly or in part, with forced labor. The commissioner would need to submit a report to Congress outlining that determination.

Furthermore, the act would require publicly traded U.S. companies to disclose their engagements with Chinese companies and other entities engaged in mass surveillance, mass interment, forced labor and other serious human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

The act would also authorize the U.S. president to apply targeted sanctions on anyone responsible for labor trafficking of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. Among other measures, the act would direct the secretary of state to submit to Congress a report that makes a formal determination on whether the alleged oppression of Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang constitutes crimes against humanity or genocide.

Government officials in China have vehemently denied accusations of oppression and forced labor. They’ve accused the U.S. and other nations and organizations of a smear campaign.

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