New Bipartisan Rubio Bill to Counteract Chinese Slave Labor

US Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) have introduced the No Funds for Forced Labor Act to counteract international slave labor, primarily in China. 

China has been repeatedly criticized for producing cheap goods on the backs of unpaid muslim minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). 

Senators Rubio and Merkley’s bill would require the U.S. Secretary of Treasury to instruct U.S. executive directors at international financial institutions to oppose projects that use forced labor.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has previously stated allegations of forced labor are “an enormous lie propagated by anti-China elements to smear China.”

American lawmakers, however, point to myriad reports substantiating claims of slave labor use in the XUAR. 

In the recently introduced bill, evidence from sources such as the Congressional-Executive Commission on China is cited as revealing “authorities in the XUAR maintained a system of forced labor  that involved former mass internment camp detainees.”

When presenting the bill, Rubio claimed via press release the CCP’s treatment of Uyghurs incited his drafting of the bill. 

“In China, the Chinese Communist Party continues with its grotesque campaign of genocide against Uyghurs and other minorities,” said Rubio. “We have a moral duty to ensure our nation isn’t tied to any purchases tainted with the forced labor of humans.”

Rubio has previously spearheaded efforts to chastise the CCP for its actions in the XUAR. 

Some efforts have been targeted towards specific Chinese companies reportedly operating in the XUAR, such as Shein and Temu. 

Shein and Temu have been accused of achieving competitive prices via unethical business practices, including Uyghur slave labor.

Conservatives have repeatedly condemned both companies and encouraged President Joe Biden’s administration to investigate them. 

Subsequently, members of the US Consumer Safety Product Commission (CSPC) released a statement outlining the need to investigate both businesses’ US operations, foreshadowing a full investigation by the CSPC.

The statement alleges Temu and Shein “raise specific concerns” regarding product safety and supply chain dynamics.