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BMW and Jaguar Land Rover imported cars and components to the US that included a part made by a company linked to Uyghur forced labour even after they were informed of the fact, a US congressional report has found.
The US Senate finance committee launched a probe in December 2022 into eight carmakers including Tesla, Volkswagen, Stellantis and Toyota over concerns that their supply chains included one component from forced labour from China’s north-eastern Xinjiang province, home to the Uyghur people.
In February the Financial Times revealed that Volkswagen Group had impounded thousands of its Porsche, Bentley and Audi brand cars in US ports after being notified that the same part was made using forced labour from Xinjiang.
The congressional investigation, published on Monday, found that BMW had imported about 8,000 Mini Cooper cars containing components made by a Chinese company that had been put on the US forced-labour ban list. It found that JLR continued to import components even after being informed.
“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 AG manufactured cars that all included components made by a supplier banned for using Uyghur forced labor,” said Senate finance committee chair Ron Wyden in a statement.
The report underscores the difficulty global carmakers are facing in disentangling their operations from China as trade tensions with the west worsen. It also highlights the challenge of enforcing legislation to tackle forced labour across the industry’s supply chains.
The investigation, led by Democrat Senator Ron Wyden, found that a component made by banned Chinese supplier Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group (JWD) ended up being used by US automotive electronics manufacturer Lear Corporation, a direct supplier of BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Volkswagen.
Lear said it informed carmakers BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo and Volkswagen on January 11 about the component, known as a LAN transformer. The part was supplied by JWD, which was added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFPLA) in December of last year.
But the committee report said that in April both BMW and Jaguar Land Rover denied sourcing parts from JWD in responses to questions from the Senate panel.
A spokesperson for BMW said the German carmaker was “informed by one of our direct suppliers that a sub-supplier in its supply chain” had been put on the ban list. They added that the group had since “taken steps to halt the importation of affected products” and would notify customers and dealers with the relevant vehicles.
JLR continued to import the JWD component to North America — its second-largest market — until 22 April, when Lear reiterated the information about the banned components to the company.
Once its compliance team had been informed, JLR “immediately stopped all shipments of the two affected after-market service parts”, the company said in a statement, adding that it had quarantined components already in the market ready for destruction.
Lear Corporation said the company did not have a direct relationship with JWD and notified its automotive customers of the presence of the component after its own supplier informed Lear that the Chinese manufacturer had been added to the US ban list.
“If a supplier violates our policies or requirements, we investigate and take all appropriate actions, up to and including termination of contract,” a spokesperson said.
The US passed the UFPLA in 2021 and it bans the import of products made with forced labour in Xinjiang. Data from US Customs and Border Protection shows that goods worth some $680mn were rejected between June 2022 and May 2024 under the legislation.
Chinese officials have defended work programmes in Xinjiang as helping employment and social stability, but the UN’s top human rights body has said China’s actions may constitute “crimes against humanity” and the US has called the situation an ongoing genocide.