Uyghur Forced Labor: New U.S. and E.U. Laws Banning Uyghur Imports and the New Diplomacy of "Going after the Money"

Authors

• Ronald C. Brown

Abstract

China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (“XUAR”) is infamous for the Chinese Government’s exploitation of their ethnic minority Uyghur population. Over China’s denials, the United Nations and numerous Western studies reveal widespread attempts at eradication of the Uyghur’s ethnic origins and the imprisonment, forced labor and trafficking of their people to work for China’s profits in the world markets. International treaties, International Labour Organization (“ILO”) Conventions, and some foreign laws have attempted to push China into adherence with international labor and human rights standards against forced labor and trafficking. The U.S. State Department evaluates 188 countries and assigns each to categories based on the country’s efforts to combat trafficking. Tier 1 is the best ranking, while Tier 3 is the worst, and China is placed in Tier 3. In Xinjiang, the Uyghurs are perpetual victims of forced labor and human rights abuses. Treaties and ILO Conventions have frail enforcement powers, and the human rights abuses have persisted. In 2022, the U.S. enacted a new law, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”), using a new approach, going beyond traditional diplomacy and international standards, and indirectly inhibiting the practices by going after the money flowing from the exported trade of Uyghur-produced goods and prohibiting their importation into the U.S. The goal is to increase pressure on China to change, and to present them with the consequences of their practices through lost revenue. The mechanism of this law may provide a model for other countries to stop the direct and indirect flow of Uyghur-produced goods into their countries. This Article explores the approach taken by the UFLPA and its reach into prohibiting direct and third-party country imports of Uyghur-produced goods and compares it with the European Union’s proposed use of due diligence and a forced labor ban to limit the inflow of Uyghur-produced goods.

Recommended Citation

Brown, Ronald C. (2024) "Uyghur Forced Labor: New U.S. and E.U. Laws Banning Uyghur Imports and the New Diplomacy of "Going after the Money"," Journal of International Business and Law: Vol. 24: Iss. 1, Article 11.
Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/jibl/vol24/iss1/11