Forced labor concerns have led to the tabling of a bipartisan bill that will ban all products from China that uses the labor in their production. The move comes after a report confirmed that the Chinese government might be using detained Uyghurs Muslims as a source of labor.
The Chinese government has, in the past few years, come under scrutiny for what is being termed as a violation of human rights in the Xinjiang region. The US government has been vocal in calling them out to stop the mass detention of more than 2 million Muslim Uyghurs in the region.
Concerns of forced labor
Lawmakers in the US have now come up with a bipartisan bill that would ban products being made by these detainees in the Xinjiang region. They pointed to forced labor reports that claim these minorities are being used in the manufacturing of goods that are exported into the US. The lawmakers have asked for the total banning of products suspected to be using forced labor in their production.
The bill which has been sponsored by both parties, including Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Democratic Rep. James McGovern of Massachusetts, was announced on Wednesday morning.
Companies using forced labor
A report by the US government has already shown that US companies are taking advantage of China’s relaxed and are already using forced labor for production. Nike, for instance, was accused of using forced to manufacture some of their products, a claim they have since denied.
The report also highlighted the surveillance of workers in the Xinjiang region was impossible. This further created loopholes that could be used to implement policies that would result in forced labor in the region.
The bill has also called the government to move swiftly in identifying individuals who are participating in forced labor and impose targeted sanctions on them. They termed this suggestion as necessary, citing Chinese opaque business dealings.
Since 2015, multiple reports have accused the Chinese government of detaining its Muslim minority in what they call re-education centers. Every time such allegations were leveled against the Chinese government. However, they pushed back and claimed these were just propaganda meant to tarnish their policies.
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