The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would require companies publicly listed in the U.S. to declare in annual reports whether they, or their affiliated partners, import goods from the Xinjiang region of China, which is alleged to be home to Beijing-approved forced labor camps for producing apparel, cotton and other products.

Uighur women work in a cloth factory in Hotan County, Xinjiang Province, China.

Additionally, the legislation would compel listed firms to say whether the goods they brought stateside from Xinjiang were sourced from “forced labor camps.” Companies would then have to say how much revenue such products generated.

If enacted, the legislation could affect companies in and with connections to the promotional products industry.

Still, the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act’s path to law appears rocky.

The Democrat-controlled House passed the bill along party lines. Twenty-six Republicans broke ranks to support the bill, but most opposed it, saying it would lead to an overreach of authority by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, while also overburdening that entity. They believe such initiatives to fight alleged forced labor in Xinjiang should be handled by the State and Treasury departments.

The Republican-controlled Senate would have to approve the bill before it could be sent to President Donald Trump for signing. If it’s not passed before the current congressional session ends in January, the bill would be removed from the docket.

U.S. legislators have taken aim at Xinjiang of late following reports that more than 1 million ethnic Uighur people from the province are being held in internment camps where they’re forced to work in factories and on cotton farms against their will. At the camps, authorities make the primarily Muslim Uighurs study Marxism and renounce their religion, investigations have alleged.

Concerned over forced labor, the House last month passed a separate bill that would ban the import of all cotton from the northwestern China province – a move that could have a dramatic effect on apparel supply chains, including those in the promotional products industry. The bill would need Senate approval before it could become law.

Supply chain disruption, higher cotton prices and impact on apparel product preferences are all in the cards if this comes to pass. Take note #promoproducts industry

House Votes to Ban Xinjiang Cotton https://t.co/UOLRvYntC6

— Chris Ruvo (@ChrisR_ASI) September 24, 2020

Meanwhile, apparel, cotton, hair products, computer parts and other items produced by particular companies in Xinjiang are now subject to seizure by U.S. custom agents following an order issued in September from President Donald Trump’s administration.