Biden Signs Uyghur Slave-Labor Bill That Apple and Nike Lobbied Against

President Joe Biden signed a slave labor bill into law Thursday banning imports from the Xinjiang region where Uyghurs are being held in internment camps despite pushback from Apple and Nike.

The bill bans imports from the region and “imposes sanctions on foreign individuals responsible for forced labor in the region,” the White House announced.

Nike executives donated more than $60,000 in September to the re-election campaign of Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, who blocked the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act which the House passed unanimously.

A report from March conducted by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China found the company was one of several major corporations suspected of either directly employing forced labor or source materials from suppliers in the region who were using forced labor. The company, however, has denied sourcing products from the region and said in a statement they “have confirmed with our contract suppliers that they are not using textiles or spun yarn from the region.”