Several major automakers relied on forced labor in China for some purchased parts, a Senate Finance Committee investigation found Monday.
BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Volkswagen bought parts that were flagged by the U.S. government for links to forced labor camps in western China’s Xinjiang province, home to the Uyghur Muslim minority group.
O two-year investigation also found that BMW and Jaguar Land Rover continued to import the flagged parts until last month, even after they were made aware of the forced labor, the report states.
“Automakers are sticking their heads in the sand and then swearing they can’t find any forced labor in their supply chains,” Finance Chairman Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said in a statement. “Somehow, the Finance Committee oversight team discovered what multibillion-dollar companies apparently could not: that BMW imported cars, Jaguar Land Rover imported parts, and VW AG manufactured cars that included components made by a supplier banned for using Uighur forced labor. .”
“The automakers’ self-policing is clearly not working,” he continued. “I call on Customs and Border Protection to take a series of specific measures to strengthen enforcement and crack down on companies that fuel the shameful use of forced labor in China.”
The report states that BMW imported around 8,000 Mini cars into the US that contained a flagged part, after a Chinese manufacturer was added to a forced labor list in December.
The investigation focused on the LAN controller, part of a car’s electronic systems, manufactured by Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group, also known as JWD. The automakers did not purchase the parts directly from JWD, but rather from international parts supplier Lear Corp.
JWD was added to U.S. forced labor production lists in December due to allegations that the company worked with the Xinjiang government to recruit, transport or receive forced labor.
Lear notified the three automakers about the flagged part in January, the report states, with Volkswagen halting imports and working to replace the part in vehicles already on their way to the US.
The report states that BMW did not do the same, continuing to import MINI vehicles until at least last month, only stopping after the committee repeatedly questioned the company.
“The BMW Group has strict standards and policies regarding employment practices, human rights and working conditions, which all of our direct suppliers must follow,” the company said in a statement. statement to The New York Times.
Jaguar Land Rover also continued to import affected parts, only stopping last month, but told the Finance Committee that its American subsidiary was not informed that the part was flagged.
“JLR takes human rights and forced labor issues seriously and has an active and ongoing program of human rights protection and anti-slavery measures,” the British carmaker said in a statement to the Times.
The committee’s report recommends that the Department of Homeland Security’s forced labor group accelerate its work on forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region, encourage better information sharing for enforcement of laws banning flagged parts, and provide instructions clearer about the audits needed to ensure that American companies follow the law.
The Hill has reached out to BMW and Jaguar Land Rover for comment.
Updated at 12:22 pm EDT
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