Senate Democrats Block Proposal to Block Chinese Imports Made With Uighur Slave Labor
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Senate Democrats reportedly blocked a law on Wednesday to prohibit imports made with Uighur slave labor for fear that it would hamper efforts to win China’s participation in a climate agreement.
Democrats excluded the Uighur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which was sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), after members of the party privately objected, according to sources cited Thursday by The Washington Free Beacon’s Alana Goodman. Rubio had offered it as an amendment to the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Presidential climate envoy John Kerry was reportedly among those who lobbied against the provision “over concerns it will hinder the White House’s climate agenda and limit solar panel imports from China.”
China has incarcerated more than 1 million Uighurs in “reeducation” camps in its Xinjiang region, where they work in factories performing unpaid labor. A 2020 report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute found that 82 companies benefited from the labor — among them Apple, BMW, Gap, and Nike.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) cited procedural reasons for blocking the amendment, saying “it automatically kills the bill, because it would be what’s called ‘blue-slipped’ in the House, which means any bill that produces revenue must start in the House. The Rubio amendment is a poison pill in the sense that it blows up the bill.”
But in a statement to The Washington Free Beacon, however, Schumer spokesman Justin Goodman blamed Republicans for blocking the amendment, saying it was “on the list of amendments Senate Democrats proposed the Senate to vote on that the Republicans have been objecting to … so you should ask the Senate Republicans why they’re blocking the vote.”
The vote to approve the larger NDAA failed after Republicans and some Democrats objected, 45-51. Lawmakers are expected to attempt another vote on the $770 billion package this month.
