Retail Industry Leaders React to Congressional Ban on Goods from Xinjiang, China

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is on its way to President Joe Biden’s desk for approval. Once signed — which the president is expected to do — the legislation would ban the import of goods from areas of China known to use forced labor. The bill, which first passed the Senate in July, finally gained approval in the House this week, with bipartisan backing from senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and congressmen Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Chris Smith (R-NJ). According to a summary of the bill, it “imposes importation limits on goods produced using forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China and imposes sanctions related to such forced labor.” Leaders from the fashion and retail industries cheered the news in a joint statement issued today by the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, the U.S. Fashion Industry Association and NAFTZ (the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones). The groups noted, “Our members are persistent and unyielding in their efforts to identify, root out and eliminate traces of forced labor in their supply chains, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a critical partner to supplement our members’ own due

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