Bill Text: NJ ACR210 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Respectfully urges Congress to pass "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act."
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-01 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Labor Committee [ACR210 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-ACR210-Introduced.html
ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 210
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED MARCH 1, 2021
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman PARKER SPACE
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Wirths
SYNOPSIS
Respectfully urges Congress to pass "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution respectfully urging Congress to pass "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act."
Whereas, Uyghurs are a largely Muslim ethnic group, numbering roughly 11 million, who reside in the Xinjiang region of western China; and
Whereas, Despite the region's ostensible autonomy, the People's Republic of China is aggressively pursuing a policy of cultural suppression and forcible assimilation of Uyghurs into the Chinese cultural and economic mainstream; and
Whereas, Human rights groups report that the Chinese government has established a network of internment camps in Xinjiang, and estimate that approximately three million Uyghurs have been interned in these camps, with approximately one million currently interned; and
Whereas, It is reported that in these camps, Uyghurs are indoctrinated to learn Mandarin Chinese, swear their loyalty to President Xi Jinping, and renounce their Islamic faith; and
Whereas, Camps are reported to function as prisons, with barbed-wire fences and security cameras, and guards armed with spiked clubs, tear gas, and stun guns to prevent detainees from escaping, and where detainees are punished for "behavioral violations" and tortured; and
Whereas, It is also reported that some Uyghurs who have been detained are also forced to labor in Chinese factories, with many transported directly from the camps to factories elsewhere in China, where they live under similarly oppressive conditions; and
Whereas, A Congressional-Executive Commission on China report from 2020 found that goods such as textiles, cotton, electronics, food products, shoes, tea, and handicrafts produced in the Xinjiang region were likely produced at least partially through the use of forced labor; and
Whereas, The report identified Nike and Coca-Cola as companies suspected of ties to forced labor in Xinjiang, as well as Adidas, Calvin Klein, Campbell Soup Company, Costco, Espirit, H&M, Kraft Heinz Company, Patagonia, Tommy Hilfiger and other companies; and
Whereas, Boycotts are historically an effective exercise of consumer power, and a considerable portion of the Chinese economy is dependent on its exports to the United States; and
Whereas, The application of a boycott by the United States of products made through forced labor will apply pressure on the Chinese government to end the practice; and
Whereas, Congress has introduced a bill to accomplish this: the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which would bar the import of goods made "in whole or in part" in Xinjiang unless a company proves to customs officials that their products were not made with forced labor; and
Whereas, The bill would also require a company exporting goods to the United States to scrutinize their supply chains, or abandon Chinese suppliers altogether; and
Whereas, The bill also targets so-called poverty alleviation and pairing programs that ship Muslims from impoverished areas to work in factories elsewhere, which human rights groups say are often coercive; and
Whereas, Under the bill, a company would be required to disclose information on their ties to Xinjiang to the Securities and Exchange Commission; and
Whereas, The bill passed the United States House Of Representatives by a vote of 406 to 3 in the 116th Congress, and has been reintroduced in the current session; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):
1. The Congress of the United States is respectfully urged to enact the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the presiding officers of the Congress of the United States and each member of the United States Congress elected from the State of New Jersey.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution urges Congress to pass the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. This bill would bar the import of goods made "in whole or in part" in Xinjiang, the region where the Chinese government is aggressively pursuing a policy of cultural suppression and forcible assimilation of Uyghurs, unless a company proves to customs officials that their products were not made with forced labor.
The bill would also require companies exporting goods to the United States to scrutinize their supply chains, or abandon Chinese suppliers altogether. The bill also targets so-called poverty alleviation and pairing programs that ship Muslims from impoverished areas to work in factories elsewhere, which human rights groups say are often coercive. Under the bill, a company would be required to disclose information on their ties to Xinjiang to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
