Public Law 117-78 passed December 23, 2021

Goods made with forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regions of the People’s of China do NOT enter the United States market and other purposes.

To strengthen the prohibition against import of goods made with forced labor effective under the Tariff Act of 1930 which prohibits importation of all “goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced or manufactured in any foreign country by forced labor”.

The United States Government will lead the international community in ending forced labor practices where ever such practices occur through all means.

Coordinate with Mexico and Canada to effectively implement Article 23.6 of the United States Mexico-Canada Agreement to prohibit goods produced by forced labor.

Actively prevent, publicly denounce, end human trafficking including with respect to forced labor and to restore the lives of those affected by human trafficking, a modern form of slavery.

Prevent atrocities, including efforts to prevent torture, enforced disappearances, severe deprivation of liberty, including mass internment, arbitrary detention, and widespread and systematic uses of forced labor and persecution targeting any ethnic or religious group and address gross violations of human rights in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region through diplomatic channels and multilateral institutions with the United States and the People’s Republic of China using all authorities available to the United States including visa, finical sanctions, export restrictions and import controls.

No later than 30 days after the enactment of this Act, the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, established under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act, will publish in the Federal Register a notice soliciting public comments on how best to ensure that goods are not imported into the United States.

Forced labor in the People’s Republic of China include; Uyghur, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, and other members persecuted groups especially in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force will provide the public no less than 45 days to submit comments.

No later than 45 days after the close comments the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force will conduct a public hearing inviting witnesses to testify with respect to the use of forced labor.

Measures that can be traced to the origin of goods, greater supply chain transparency, identify third country supply chain routes wholly or in part with forced labor in the People’s Republic of China, and other measures wholly or in part with forced labor do not enter the United States.

After receiving public comments and holding the hearing, the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force in consultation with Secretary of Commerce and the Director of National Intelligence will develop a strategy for enforcing Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930.

A comprehensive assessment of the risk of importing goods produced with forced labor in the People’s Republic of China that identifies the feasible threats, including through the potential involvement in supply chains of entities that may use forced labor that could lead to the importation into the United States from the People’s Republic of China, including third countries and what procedures to be implemented to reduce such threats.

A comprehensive description and evaluation of “pairing assistance” and “poverty alleviation” or any other labor scheme that includes the forced labor of the Uyghur, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, and other members persecuted groups especially in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or similar programs in which work or services are extracted through the threat of penalty and have NOT offered themselves voluntarily and a list of entities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region that mine, produce, manufacture goods, wares, articles and merchandise with forced labor. A list of entities working with the government that recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor groups.

A list of products mined, produced, or manufactured. A list of entities that export these products. A list of facilities and entities including Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps that source material from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or from persons working with the government for the purpose of the “"poverty alleviation” or “pairing assistance” programs, or any other schemer that uses forced labor. A plan for identifying additional facilities and an enforcement plan for each entity whose goods, ware, articles or merchandise are exposed to the United States which include cotton, tomatoes and polysilicon.

Recommendations for efforts, initiatives, tools and technologies to be adopted to ensure that US Customs and Border Protection can identify and trace goods made in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

A description of how US Customs and Border Protection plans to enhance its use of legal authorities and other tools to ensure no goods enter the United States including pilot programs to test the viability of technologies to assist in the examination of such goods.

Guidance to importers with respect to due diligence, effective supply chain tracing, supply chain management measures to ensure imports do NOT come from forced labor from the People’s Republic of China, especially from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The type, nature, and extent of evidence that demonstrates the goods origination including goods detained and seized.

A plan to coordinate and collaborate with nongovernmental organizations and private sector entities to implement and update the strategy development.

No later than 180 days of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force in consultation with the Department of Commerce and Director of National Intelligence will submit a report to the appropriate congressional committee that under the first report, sets forth the strategy developed. Subsequent report, sets forth any updates to the strategy.

Yearly the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force shall submit to the appropriate congressional committee updates to the strategy. Each report will be unclassified and may include a classified annex if necessary. The unclassified portion of report will be available to the public.

The Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection shall apply a presumption that, with respect to any goods produced by forced labor from the People’s Republic of China, especially from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region prohibited by the Tariff Act of 1930 that such items are NOT allowed entry into the United States.

The Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection can make exceptions if the importer of record has fully complied with the guidance described and any regulations issued to implement that guidance, and the importer completely and substantively responded to all inquiries for information submitted by the Commissioner to ascertain that all items were not produced by forced labor.

The Commissioner will submit to the appropriate committee no later than 30 days after making a determination of an exception, a report identifying the good and the evidence considered. The Commissioner may prescribe regulations to implement or to amend any other regulations relating to withhold release orders. This will take place 180 days after the enactment of this Act.

No later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State in coordination with other Federal agencies shall submit a report that contains a United States strategy to promote initiative to enhance international awareness of and to address forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China.

The strategy required shall include a plan to enhance bilateral and multilateral coordination, including sustained engagement with the governments of United States partners and allies. A description of public affairs, public diplomacy, and counter-messaging efforts to promote awareness of the human rights situation. A plan to coordinate and collaborate with appropriate non-governmental organizations and private sector entities to raise awareness about forced labor, and to provide humanitarian assistance, including with respect to resettlement and advocacy for imprisoned family members, including members of such groups formerly detained in mass internment camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The Secretary will include in the report after consultations with Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of the Treasury a list of entities in the People’s Republic of China or affiliates that use or benefit from forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Foreign persons that acted as agents to import goods into the United States. A plan for working with the private sector entities seeking to conduct supply chain due diligence to prevent importation of goods with forced labor into the United States. A plan of action taken by the United States government to address forced labor under existing authorities including the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (PL 106-386). The Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018 (PL 115-441) and the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The report shall be unclassified but may include annex if necessary.

The Secretary of State may include any updates to the strategy in the annual Trafficking in Persons report of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

The Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (PL 116-145) is amended by adding “serious human rights abuses in connection with forced labor”, this takes effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and applied with respect to the first report required by the Uyghur Human Policy Act of 2020.

No later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act, the President will submit to the committee specified of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 a report that identifies each foreign person, including any official of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, that the President determines responsible for serious human rights abuses in connection with forced labor. The President shall impose sanctions with respect to each foreign person identified in the report.

Certain sections will cease 8 years after the date of the enactment of this Act or the date on which the President submits to the appropriate congressional committee a determination that the Government of the People’s Republic of China has ended mass internment, forced labor, and any other gross violations of human rights experienced by Uyghur, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, and members of other persecuted groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

“Appropriate congressional committee”

“Forced Labor”; definition under the Tariff Act of 1930 and includes convict labor and indentured labor under penal sanctions.

“Foreign Person”; a person that is not a United States person.

“Person”; an individual or entity.

“United States Person”; a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States to an entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.