According to a US congressional study, thousands of Mini Coopers were smuggled into the US using parts from a Chinese company that has been blacklisted. The parts were utilised by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Volkswagen (VW), and BMW, who are all connected to Chinese forced labour.
The Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden's staff research states that at least 8,000 BMW Mini Cooper automobiles were smuggled into the US using parts from the outlawed Chinese company Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group (JWD).
"Automakers’ self-policing is clearly not doing the job," the Democrat Senator said.
Jaguar Land Rover stated that company "takes human rights and forced labour issues seriously and has an active ongoing programme of human rights protection and anti-slavery measures" .
Requests for comments were not immediately answered by BMW or VW.
Additionally, Wyden called on US Customs and Border Protection to "step up enforcement and take tough measures against businesses that support the abhorrent use of forced labour in China."
The investigation also stated that once the firm was placed on the prohibited list, Jaguar Land Rover began importing spare parts, some of which were components from JWD.
According to JLR, it has now located this component and is getting rid of whatever stock it has worldwide.
Volkswagen reported in February that authorities had detained thousands of its cars, including Porshes and Bentleys, due to a component that violated American rules against forced labour.
According to the investigation, VW voluntarily notified customs authorities of the problem.
In 2021, the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA) was enacted by Congress.
The goal of the law is to stop the importation of products from the Xinjiang region of northwest China that are allegedly created under forced labour circumstances by members of the Uyghur minority.
Since JWD was included on the UFLPA Entity List in December 2023, it is assumed that forced labour was used to produce its goods.
Over the past few years, China has been accused of forcibly detaining over a million Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
All claims of violations of human rights in Xinjiang have been refuted by the authorities.
(Source:www.scmp.com)
The Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden's staff research states that at least 8,000 BMW Mini Cooper automobiles were smuggled into the US using parts from the outlawed Chinese company Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group (JWD).
"Automakers’ self-policing is clearly not doing the job," the Democrat Senator said.
Jaguar Land Rover stated that company "takes human rights and forced labour issues seriously and has an active ongoing programme of human rights protection and anti-slavery measures" .
Requests for comments were not immediately answered by BMW or VW.
Additionally, Wyden called on US Customs and Border Protection to "step up enforcement and take tough measures against businesses that support the abhorrent use of forced labour in China."
The investigation also stated that once the firm was placed on the prohibited list, Jaguar Land Rover began importing spare parts, some of which were components from JWD.
According to JLR, it has now located this component and is getting rid of whatever stock it has worldwide.
Volkswagen reported in February that authorities had detained thousands of its cars, including Porshes and Bentleys, due to a component that violated American rules against forced labour.
According to the investigation, VW voluntarily notified customs authorities of the problem.
In 2021, the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA) was enacted by Congress.
The goal of the law is to stop the importation of products from the Xinjiang region of northwest China that are allegedly created under forced labour circumstances by members of the Uyghur minority.
Since JWD was included on the UFLPA Entity List in December 2023, it is assumed that forced labour was used to produce its goods.
Over the past few years, China has been accused of forcibly detaining over a million Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
All claims of violations of human rights in Xinjiang have been refuted by the authorities.
(Source:www.scmp.com)
