Peters’ Bipartisan Bill Would Help U.S. Companies Identify and Avoid Doing Business with Foreign Entities Linked to Human Rights Abuses
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to help American businesses identify and avoid doing business with foreign entities linked to human rights abuses, particularly the use of forced labor in China. The Combating CCP Labor Abuses Act – which Peters reintroduced with U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and John Curtis (R-UT) – would direct the Commerce Department to offer training and guidance to U.S. exporters that are, or are considering, exporting goods to businesses in the People’s Republic of China where forced labor and significant human rights abuses have occurred. The bill – which unanimously passed the Senate last Congress – would also require the Commerce Department to provide additional insight that might help U.S. exporters avoid doing business with foreign entities that are subject to the influence or control of nations such as the People’s Republic of China that may be implicated in forced labor or human rights violations.
“We must do everything we can to condemn and deter human rights abuses being committed by our adversaries, including China,” said Senator Peters, a member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. “This bipartisan bill will provide our businesses with important insight that can help avoid business dealings with foreign entities that might be involved in these atrocities.”
The bipartisan legislation has earned the support of the Uyghur Human Rights Project and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).
“Business complicity in the genocide of the Uyghurs has to be stopped,” said Omer Kanat, Uyghur Human Rights Project Executive Director. “The US government should act on its 2021 genocide finding, by ensuring small businesses have options. This bill is important for them to stop any kind of business with the companies involved in the ongoing slow-genocide policies in China – including hi-tech surveillance, textiles, EV batteries, and much more.”
The government of the People’s Republic of China has perpetrated egregious human rights abuses—including in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region—against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups. The Chinese government’s actions have encompassed mass detention in internment camps, the use of forced labor, and other atrocities. This has led the U.S. State Department to determine that the People’s Republic of China, “under the direction and control” of the Chinese Communist Party, “has committed genocide against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang.”
The U.S. Department of Commerce provides valuable assistance to help U.S. businesses and exporters increase sales and tap into new markets, such as through export counseling provided by the U.S. Commercial Service. Peters’ bipartisan bill would build on existing human rights training for Department staff by ensuring its workforce is specifically informed about emerging trends and issues with respect to human rights abuses occurring around the world, such as the situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
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