Title 22 — Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-73not60

§6902 Policy

Title 22 › Chapter 77— UNITED STATES-CHINA RELATIONS › Subchapter I— GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 6902

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The United States must push for trade ties that spread the benefits of trade and raise — not lower — standards for labor, the environment, fair business rules, market access, anti‑corruption, and similar areas across borders. It must work to enforce trade and related international commitments using international organizations and, when appropriate, U.S. law. The United States must also encourage other governments to run their commercial and noncommercial affairs under laws made through democratic processes. The United States must encourage the Government of the People’s Republic of China to give workers internationally recognized worker rights and to protect human rights. That includes urging China to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, protect freedom of movement and the right to leave and return, and afford criminal defendants rights such as being present at trial, legal help (including assigned counsel without cost when needed), a fair and public hearing by an independent tribunal, presumption of innocence, and timely trials. The United States must also raise human rights violations in the United Nations Human Rights Commission and other forums and seek other countries’ support for improvements.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §6902

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

It is the policy of the United States—

(1)to develop trade relations that broaden the benefits of trade, and lead to a leveling up, rather than a leveling down, of labor, environmental, commercial rule of law, market access, anticorruption, and other standards across national borders;

(2)to pursue effective enforcement of trade-related and other international commitments by foreign governments through enforcement mechanisms of international organizations and through the application of United States law as appropriate;

(3)to encourage foreign governments to conduct both commercial and noncommercial affairs according to the rule of law developed through democratic processes;

(4)to encourage the Government of the People’s Republic of China to afford its workers internationally recognized worker rights;

(5)to encourage the Government of the People’s Republic of China to protect the human rights of people within the territory of the People’s Republic of China, and to take steps toward protecting such rights, including, but not limited to—

(A)ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

(B)protecting the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose a residence within the People’s Republic of China and the right to leave from and return to the People’s Republic of China; and

(C)affording a criminal defendant—

(i)the right to be tried in his or her presence, and to defend himself or herself in person or through legal assistance of his or her own choosing;

(ii)the right to be informed, if he or she does not have legal assistance, of the right set forth in clause (i);

(iii)the right to have legal assistance assigned to him or her in any case in which the interests of justice so require and without payment by him or her in any such case if he or she does not have sufficient means to pay for it;

(iv)the right to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal established by the law;

(v)the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law; and

(vi)the right to be tried without undue delay; and

(6)to highlight in the United Nations Human Rights Commission and in other appropriate fora violations of human rights by foreign governments and to seek the support of other governments in urging improvements in human rights practices.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 6902

Title 22 — Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60