BMW, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Volkswagen (VW) used parts made by suppliers included in a list of companies banned for alleged links to forced labor in China, a report to Congress has revealed.
At least 8,000 BMW Mini Cooper cars were imported into the United States with parts from banned Chinese company Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group (JWD), according to a report from the staff of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden., Out.
“Auto manufacturers’ self-policing is clearly not doing its job,” the Democratic senator said.
Jaguar Land Rover told the BBC: “We take human rights and forced labor issues seriously and have an active and ongoing program to protect human rights and take action against slavery.”
BMW and Volkswagen did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prime Minister Wyden also called on U.S. Customs and Border Protection to “step up enforcement and crack down on companies that facilitate shameful forced labor in China.”
The report added that Jaguar Land Rover imported spare parts containing parts from JWD after it was placed on the banned list.
JLR said it was currently identifying and destroying its global inventory containing this component.
In February, Volkswagen said thousands of its vehicles, including Porsches and Bentleys, had been seized by authorities because they contained parts that violated U.S. forced labor laws.
The report said Volkswagen voluntarily reported the problem to customs authorities.
Congress passed the Uighur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) into law in 2021.
The bill is aimed at preventing the import of goods believed to have been produced using forced labor by members of the Uyghur minority in China's northwestern Xinjiang region.
JWD was added to the UFLPA entity list in December 2023, meaning its products are presumed to have been made with forced labor.
China has been accused of detaining more than a million Uighurs in Xinjiang against their will over the past few years.
Authorities have denied all allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
“The so-called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in the United States is a bill that promotes unemployment, not forced labor. “Instead of protecting human rights, it harms the survival and employment rights of Xinjiang residents under the guise of human rights,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
“China strongly condemns this and resolutely opposes it. We will take measures to resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”