S. 585: Uyghur Human Rights Sanctions Review Act

This bill requires that certain Chinese companies be evaluated for placement on the specially designated nationals and blocked persons list, also known as the SDN list. (Being placed on the SDN list can deny the designated individual or entity access to nearly all aspects of the U.S. financial system; it can also deny access to any assets the designee has that are under U.S. jurisdiction, and U.S. persons are usually prohibited from transacting with the designee.)

The bill requires the Department of the Treasury to determine if certain specified Chinese companies (such as Alibaba Group Holding, Ltd. and ByteDance Ltd.) are (1) responsible for or complicit in serious human rights abuses against Uyghurs or other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, or (2) meet the criteria for the imposition of sanctions under certain U.S. laws or executive orders. If the Department of the Treasury determines that a company meets either of these criteria, Treasury must place the company on the SDN list.

Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.