What has changed? On March 11, 2020, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (“CECC”) announced new proposed legislation, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, co-sponsored by the chairs of the CECC, Rep. Jim McGovern (D – MA) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R – FL), targeting supply chains linked to forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act would establish a rebuttable presumption that all labor occurring in Xinjiang,…
On November 27, 2019, President Trump signed two bills into law that increase US sanctions and export control restrictions as they relate to China. The bills, approved in response to recent political protests in Hong Kong, had near unanimous support from the US Congress. President Trump previously expressed concerns about the legislation while in the midst of negotiating a trade deal with China but ultimately signed both bills in the hopes that the “Leaders and Representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences leading to long term peace and prosperity for all.”