MNI EXCLUSIVE: Trump To Sign Uighur Bill, Ex-Advisors Say

     WASHINGTON(MNI) - President Donald Trump will sign a bill calling for a

tougher response to Beijing's treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority in

Xinjiang if it is sent to him as expected in December, former advisors to the

president told MNI.

     Senator Marco Rubio's bill passed unanimously in the Senate in September

and was amended and strengthened in the House before passing Tuesday 407 to 1.

Rubio expects the bill to be sent to Trump by the time the Senate adjourns Dec.

20, MNI understands.

     The bill, which will add to Beijing's irritants after Trump last week

signed another law aimed at supporting protesters in Hong Kong, is progressing

as the U.S. and China seek to conclude a Phase One trade deal and head off

further tariffs on Chinese goods due to kick in on Dec. 15. It aims to "to

address gross violations of universally recognized human rights, including the

mass internment of over 1,000,000 Uyghurs." It also bans the export of items

that can be used for surveillance of individuals and calls for "targeted

sanctions" on members of the Chinese government responsible for atrocities in

Xinjiang, and names the region's Communist Party secretary, Chen Quanguo.

     "Trump should and will sign. No additional impact from where things are

today except to strengthen Trump's hand [in the trade talks]... It's the right

thing to do," Dan DiMicco, a senior trade and economic adviser to Trump during

the presidential campaign, told MNI.

     --TARIFFS KEY

     Derek Scissors, who has also advised Trump and is currently a resident

scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, agreed that the president would

sign the bill.

     "I don't think the Xinjiang bill matters to trade talks. If the bill is

passed and signed, China will again announce some minor retaliation. But the

outcome of the talks will be almost entirely determined by whether President

Trump will roll back existing tariffs," Scissors said.

     The bill contains a provision allowing the president to waive sanctions if

he determines it to be in the national interest.

     Senator Rubio is currently working through the House changes in the Senate

to see if the committees who have jurisdiction over the new language - the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Banking Committee - will allow

the bill to come straight to the floor for either a vote or to be passed by

unanimous consent.

     Senator Jim Risch, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said

he is working with colleagues in the Senate to find a way to advance the

legislation.

     Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Thursday would not comment on whether he

would recommend Trump support the bill when asked by legislators on the House

Financial Services Committee.

--MNI London Bureau; +44 203 865 3829; email: jason.webb@marketnews.com

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