Carmakers found purchasing goods banned under Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act: Report
May 21, 2024
Washington [US], May 22 : A two-year-long research by the Senate Finance Committee in the US found out that car brands like BMW, Lands Rover, Jaguar, and Volkswagen have over time been purchasing spare parts originating from the Xinjiang region of East Turkistan, a report by The New York Times stated.
The same report titled "Insufficient Diligence: Carmakers Complicit With CCP Forced Labor" claimed, that both BMW and Jaguar had continued to purchase components made by Chinese companies violating American law, even when they were informed of their cars containing banned parts in their supply chain.
Additionally, the same report by the Senate Finance Committee claimed that BMW has shipped at least 8000 mini vehicles containing such banned parts to the US.
Even when the Chinese supplier had been added to a US government list of companies participating in forced labour. Although Volkswagen took steps to correct the same.
The investigational report initiated by the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden of Oregon, aimed to highlight the risks involved for automakers as the US is trying to block the entry of goods prepared in Xinjiang under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
According to the New York Times report, a statement by Wyden mentioned that "automakers are sticking their heads in the sand and then swearing they can't find any forced labour in their supply chains. Somehow, the Finance Committee's oversight staff uncovered what multibillion-dollar companies apparently could not: that BMW imported cars, Jaguar Land Rover imported parts and VW A.G. manufactured cars that all included components made by a supplier banned for using Uyghur forced labour," he added. "Automakers' self-policing is not doing the job".
According to the NYT report, automakers are not buying the components directly from Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group, also known as JWD but from a series of sub-suppliers.
Volkswagen continues to run a facility in Xinjiang through a Chinese state-run company. However, the car manufacturer has claimed that an audit was done by an external entity and found free of forced labour in 2023.
However, China denies any existence of forced labour camps in Xinjiang. According to the US government from 2017 to 2019 the Chinese authorities in Xinjiang detained over one million ethnic Uyghurs and other minorities in re-education centers.
