21-HR6256 on Dec 14, 2021

Al Jazeera news, "Biden signs law banning goods made in China's Xinjiang region," 12/23/21: President Joe Biden signed a new law banning products made in China's Xinjiang region because of China's oppression of its largely Muslim Uighur minority population. The law imposes a near-blanket ban on the import to the US of goods from Xinjiang by requiring suppliers to first prove their products were not made with forced labour. Xinjiang is a large supplier of cotton and solar panels.

UN experts have estimated that more than one million people, mainly Uighurs, have been imprisoned in recent years in a vast system of camps in Xinjiang. The US and many rights groups have called it "genocide".

China has rejected allegations of abuse in Xinjiang, accusing countries and rights organisations of launching "slanderous attacks" about conditions for Muslim Uighurs in the far western region. An independent UK-based tribunal ruled last week the Chinese government had committed genocide, crimes against humanity and torture of Uighurs and other minorities. The US cited the situation in Xinjiang in a decision earlier this month to launch a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Legislative Outcome: Introduced in House and passed by voice vote on 12/14/2021; passed Senate by Unanimous Consent on 12/16/2021; signed by President on 12/23/2021.

Participating counts on VoteMatch question 13. Question 13: Support & expand free trade Scores: -2=Strongly oppose; -1=Oppose; 0=neutral; 1=Support; 2=Strongly support.
• Topic: Foreign Policy
• Headline: Ban imports from Xinjiang made by Uyghur forced labor (Score: -1)
  
  
• Key for participation codes (prefox and suffix key below; second digit chooses headline):
• Sponsorships: p=sponsored; o=co-sponsored; s=signed
• Memberships: c=chair; m=member; e=endorsed; f=profiled; s=scored
• Resolutions: i=introduced; w=wrote; a=adopted
• Cases: w=wrote; j=joined; d=dissented; c=concurred
• Surveys: '+' supports; '-' opposes.
• Voting: (prefix 'v'): 'y' YES; 'n' NO; 'a' ABSTAIN/ABSENT.