Business and Human Rights
(Washington)—The bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) held a hearing today looking at the rampant use of forced labor in China’s seafood industry and how seafood caught and processed with forced labor ends up in the U.S. supply chains. The CECC’s Chairs, Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) were joined at the hearing by Commissioner Thea Lee, the Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs at the Department of Labor. The CECC includes five Executive Branch members and bipartisan Congressional members from the House and Senate.
Forced labor in China taints the world’s seafood supply chain. PRC-based companies that use the forced labor of Uyghurs and North Koreans process a large amount of seafood for the U.S. market. From fish sticks to calamari—these products end up in the supply chains of major restaurants and wholesalers and in the lunches served at American schools and military bases. Recently published reports by The Outlaw Ocean Project detail how forced labor is rampant in China’s seafood industry, including modern slavery on China’s illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing fleet, and in processing plants located in Shandong province of China—where Uyghurs are employed in labor transfer projects.
(Washington) — The Chairs of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) today released two letters—one to Commissioner Adam Silver of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and one to President C.J.
(Washington)—Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) issued the following statement in response to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s announcement of the addition of three new PRC-based companies to the “Entity List” required by the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) and the Department of State’s announcement of the Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory Addendum.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has benefited greatly from the international rules-based order, yet its growing economic power has allowed it to present a systemic alternative that subordinates universal human rights to the PRC’s political and ideological agenda. As a result, international businesses and corporations that seek to operate in the PRC or maintain access to the Chinese market often find themselves at risk of being complicit in human rights abuses—in China and globally. These abuses range from genocide, imports made with forced labor, forced organ harvesting, the creation of mass technological surveillance systems, internet censorship, and restrictions on free speech.
(Washington)—The Chairs of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), issued the following statement concerning the Department of Homeland Security’s announcement of additions to the “Entity List” required by the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). The Chairs were the primary cosponsors of UFLPA with former CECC Chairs Marco Rubio (R-FL) and James P. McGovern (D-MA).
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) is the most momentous piece of China legislation passed by the Congress in over two decades. If enforced as intended, UFLPA imposes significant costs on the People’s Republic of China for its campaign of genocide against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities and takes steps to prevent companies from benefiting from the use of forced labor in their supply chains. The task assigned to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the multi-agency Forced Labor Enforcement Taskforce (FLETF) is daunting and aggressive enforcement is the key to UFLPA’s effectiveness.
(Washington, DC)—Representative Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), today released a letter to Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary Robert P. Silvers outlining concerns about the implementation and enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (P.L. 117-78, or UFLPA). Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA) joined the Chairs in sending the letter. This bipartisan group of lawmakers were the lead sponsors of the UFLPA legislation.