Lawmakers Ask Biden Admin to Sanction Hikvision
The Biden administration should impose Global Magnitsky sanctions against leading Chinese surveillance company Hikvision for its role in human rights violations against Uyghurs in China, Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Gregory Meeks, D.N.Y., said this week. The lawmakers, the top Republican and Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, asked President Joe Biden to tell the committee within 120 days whether Hikvision meets criteria for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, pointing to the company’s “clear track record in enabling international recognized human rights violations in Xinjiang.”
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Hikvision is subject to other U.S. trade restrictions, including Entity List license requirements, but isn’t subject to the financial sanctions imposed against companies on the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals List. “With this request, we call upon you to consider the information provided and any other credible sources of information to make a determination and authorize sanctions against Hikvision for its role in facilitating gross human rights violations against Uyghur and Muslim minorities in Xinjiang,” the lawmakers said in a letter released March 6. The White House didn’t comment.
Industry experts also have called on the U.S. to sanction Hikvision, partly because it’s unclear how much of an impact the Entity List is having on Hikvision’s operations (see 2206070013), while others said new sanctions could severely escalate U.S.-China tensions (see 2205090014). The Financial Times last May reported that the administration is planning new sanctions against Hikvision (see 2205040009).