Legislation sponsored on Feb. 15 by U.S. Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) would prohibit television advertising in the United States for products that were made using forced labor from China.
“I was shocked to see multiple ads during the Super Bowl from Temu, a company that the House Select Committee on China found is likely using forced labor in their supply chain in violation of U.S. import laws,” Rep. Curtis said.
The No Forced Labor on TV Act, H.R. 7364, would define the advertising of forced labor products as a deceptive practice and would prohibit their TV ads from China, according to a bill summary provided by the congressman’s staff.
Specifically, H.R. 7364 would treat any violations of the enacted bill as a violation of a regulation under section 9 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices, states the text of the bill.
Any person who violated this section would be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act, says the text.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said Rep. Curtis, “is committing horrible human rights abuses against the Uyghurs and this bill will ensure these companies do not get the ability to undercut American businesses with dangerous labor practices.”
In June 2023, the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released an interim report detailing the preliminary findings of its bipartisan investigations into Chinese fast fashion brands, Shein and Temu, which were found to be exploiting U.S. de minimis provisions to evade customs enforcement.
The report also revealed that Temu has no system to ensure compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, “all but guaranteeing that shipments made by Uyghur forced labor are entering American homes,” the report says.
In addition to the accusations of forced labor, Rep. Curtis has heard from numerous small business owners who said they have had their IP stolen and sold on Temu and similar Chinese sites, according to his staff.