On December 8th, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.” This act prevented the forced labor of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). The XUAR has held estimates of 500,000-800,000 Uyghur Muslims as prisoners for forced labor. In order to prevent USA from having any negative impact towards the issue, President Joe Biden signed the “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.”
The XUAR
Due to the heavy concentration of Uyghur Muslims being in forced labor at the XUAR, one would be unable to differentiate forced labor economy and free economy. Since nearly 84% of China’s cotton comes from Xinjiang, any cotton in use, if originated in China, could be created with forced labor. Even popular companies such as Puma, H&M, North Face, Abercrombie and Fitch, Gap, Adidas, and Nike have had sources of material from forced labor sites in China, meaning items in even your closet could have items partly created from forced labor.
President Biden’s Response
Thankfully, the United States will no longer receive items from the XUAR, thus limiting the use of material created by forced labor in the US. The Act states, “To ensure that goods made with forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China do not enter the United States market, and for other purposes.” As said by the New York Times, “The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act creates a presumption that ‘with respect to any goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang […] or produced by an entity on a list […], (1) the importation of such goods, wares, articles, and merchandise is prohibited under section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930; and (2) such goods, wares, articles, and merchandise are not entitled to entry at any of the ports of the United States.'” To learn more about the Uyghur Prevention Act, read the official bill here.
All in all, the Uyghur Prevention Act has started the United States down the path away from forced labor. As we learn more about forced labor sites, we should be more mindful of the clothing we wear and its origins. To learn more about products that use forced and child labor, click here. To learn more about brands and companies that do not use forced and child labor, click here. The United States still faces many issues pertaining to the receiving of items produced through forced labor, and thus we must be aware of what we consume. Please learn more about forced labor and child labor in the world so every being can live. Thank you so much for reading and check of VOF’s other articles!
Works Cited
BLINKEN, ANTONY J. “The Signing of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.” U.S. Department of State, United States Government, 23 Dec. 2021, https://www.state.gov/the-signing-of-the-uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act/.
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. “China: 83 Major Brands Implicated in Report on Forced Labour of Ethnic Minorities from Xinjiang Assigned to Factories across Provinces; Includes Company Responses.” Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 1 Mar. 2020, https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/china-83-major-brands-implicated-in-report-on-forced-labour-of-ethnic-minorities-from-xinjiang-assigned-to-factories-across-provinces-includes-company-responses/.
Ochab, Dr. Ewelina U. “Biden Signs the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act into Law.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 23 Dec. 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2021/12/23/biden-signs-the-uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act-into-law/?sh=7936b054476d.