Five of the world’s major carmakers aren’t sufficiently mapping their supply chains to stamp out links to forced labor programs in China’s Xinjiang region, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.
The area in China’s northwest is an important aluminum producer, accounting for about 9% of global supply, and the industry has ties to state-sponsored labor transfer programs that have been accused of coercing Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities into jobs, it said.
That’s left legacy automakers Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG, as well as electric-vehicle producers Tesla Inc. and China’s BYD Co., at increased risk of exposure to forced labor, HRW said. The sector’s reliance on coal to power aluminum smelters adds to the risks.
The problem is compounded by the threat of government reprisals against companies that investigate links to Xinjiang and joint-venture relationships between foreign and Chinese firms that limit carmakers’ efforts to trace the supply chain, they said. The US-headquartered group based its findings on Chinese state media articles, company reports, and government statements.
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