US Finds BMW, Jaguar Used Prohibited Chinese Components

Here are information how BMW Caught in Forced Labor Debacle, Imports Cars from Banned Supplier, Companies admit to Using Prohibited Components Under Committee Questioning.

Washington, D.C.  Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., reveals major gaps in automakers’ oversight of forced labor in their supply chains—including two companies t shipping cars or parts into United States this year.

“Automakers are sticking their heads in the sand and then swearing they can’t find any forced labor in their supply chains,” Wyden said. “Somehow, the Finance Committee’s oversight staff uncovered what multi-billion-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. Automakers’ self-policing is clearly not doing the job. I’m calling on Customs and Border Protection to take a number of specific steps to supercharge enforcement and crack down on companies that fuel the shameful use of forced labor in China.”

Here is the full report to the situation, title “Insufficient Diligence: Car Makers Complicit with CCP Forced Labor,” is available here.

Importing goods made with forced labor to the United States has been illegal since the 1930s. Recognizing the systematic, government-sanctioned use of force labor in the Xinjiang region of China, the Uyghur Force Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in 2021 strengthens enforcement of the law with respect to facilities in Xinjiang and other entities identifies as having  complicit in China’s force labor scheme.

On January 2024, Volkswagen reveals that a shipment of its vehicles intended for the U.S. market includes parts made with a supplier banned by the U.S. government under UFLPA.

While the Volkswagen disclosure became public earlier this year, committee staff realized that BMW imported thousands of vehicles intended for the United States that append parts banned under UFLPA.

Interviews and documents obtained by committee staff show that Bourns, a California-based auto supplier acquire source components from Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group Co Ltd. Bourns, in turn, provides parts to Lear Corp to direct supplier for BMW and Jaguar Land Rover. Bourns notified Lear on January 3, 2024 that electronic components i.e.  LAN transformers is from JWD, and thus were outlaw in vehicles  shipment to the United States.

In January 11, Lear sent letters to BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo and VW AG informing them of the banned components. Despite the notification, in April 2024, after the committee explicitly asked both companies whether they ever “directly or indirectly sourcing for parts from JWD,” Jaguar Land Rover claims to be unaware of its links to the manufacturer mentioned on the UFLPA Entity List, and BMW informs the committee that JWD was not on their “supplier list.  However, after a lot of questions from the committee, BMW discloses that at least 8,000 Mini Cooper cars containing JWD components is sent to the United States.

In fact, BMW keep  importing products manufactured by JWD until at least April 2024 and appears to have stopped only after the committee put a question to Lear and Lear’s OEM customers, including BMW, about their relationship with JWD, the report says. “BMW has informs the Committee that it voluntarily disclosed to CBP that shipments of vehicles and spare parts that entered the US market after December 11, 2023 included a LAN transformer produced by JWD.

Lastly, the staff reports recommended the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection take a number of actions to strengthen enforcement of the forced labor ban in auto supply chains, including:

  1. Speeding up work by the DHS Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to identify facilities in Xinjiang using forced labor and to add them to the UFLPA Entity List;
  2. Updating the list of high-priority sectors for UFLPA enforcement;
  3. Improving information-sharing regarding enforcement of UFLPA; and
  4. Providing clearer direction about what kinds of audits are necessary to detect forced labor in supply chains and comply with federal laws.

 

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