Finance Committee Continues to Push Auto Industry on Uyghur Labor Ties
After Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., heard from automakers that they ask their suppliers to pledge that they do not source inputs made with forced labor, he turned his attention to tier 1 suppliers to the major automakers, and is asking them the same questions he asked the eight major automakers back in December (see 2212220045). Although he asked automakers to detail how they do supply chain mapping, and asked if any of their goods have been subject to forced labor detentions, the companies did not reply with details.
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So Wyden announced on March 28 that he is asking Continental AG, DENSO, Magna International, Robert Bosch, and ZF Friedrichshafen the same questions, and is requesting a reply by April 11.
The letters ask things such as does your company "conduct its own supply chain mapping and analysis of raw materials, mining, processing, and parts manufacturing to determine if its supply chain is linked to Xinjiang? If so, please: a. describe the extent of supply chain mapping and analysis, and specifically indicate if these efforts include sub-suppliers, including mines, mineral processors, and any affiliated entities; b. indicate if the supply chain mapping and analysis includes a list of the Chinese language names of sub-suppliers and, if so, describe the extent of this list, and specifically indicate if it includes sub-suppliers, including mines, mineral processors, and any affiliated entities; and, c. if the supply chain mapping and analysis includes a list of the Chinese-language names of sub-suppliers, describe any due diligence [your company] conducts, including open-source research, using this list."
The Finance Committee also asks how the company investigates if any company it contracts with accepts transferred workers from Xinjiang.
“I recognize that tier 1 suppliers rely on complex supply chains to source thousands of parts from across the world," the chairman wrote. "However, this complexity cannot cause the United States to compromise its fundamental commitment to upholding human rights and U.S. law.”
He also sent follow-up letters to the automakers, trying to pin down what kind of visibility they have into their supply chains in China, and asking if they use particular strategies to learn if there is a connection to Uyghur laborers. The letters ask if the companies do open-source research using Chinese suppliers' names. They ask if the companies review suppliers' Chinese marketing materials and regulatory filings to see if there are transfers of Xinjiang laborers.
They also ask the companies to report which of their five largest tier 1 suppliers has "any direct or indirect sub-suppliers in China, including mines, mineral processors, and any affiliated entities." Wyden asked the automakers to reply by April 11.
Wyden said the investigation that began in December was prompted in part by a report out of England that alleged that electronics parts produced in China are made in part by Uyghur workers transferred to Eastern China against their will, and that steel, aluminum, lead, lithium and copper are processed in Xinjiang and make their way into car frames, axles, bodies, engine casings, wheels and brakes made in Europe or into batteries made in Asia (see 2212060054).