Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region

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Photo Credit: Lenny Kuhne, Unsplash

Automotive Industry

The global automotive industry is deeply implicated in Uyghur forced labour – from raw materials mining and processing to auto parts manufacturing for both traditional and electric vehicles.

  • The Chinese government is actively moving the processing of raw materials and manufacturing of automotive parts into the Uyghur Region, due in part, to the availability of large reserves of coal that are used in these processes making them particularly energy-intensive and highly polluting.
  • Production and processing of key metals in car manufacturing, including steel, aluminium, and copper, are heavily reliant on Uyghur forced labour. As of 2022, 96 mining, processing, or manufacturing companies were operating in the Uyghur Region. 38 of these were found to have participated in state-sponsored labour transfer programs.
  • The Uyghur Region alone accounts for approximately 10% of the world’s global aluminium production and hosts the world’s largest steel supplier and copper supplier. The production of all three metals in the Region is reportedly linked with Uyghur forced labour.
  • Car parts such as batteries, for both internal combustion engine and electric vehicle battery cars, wheels, tires, glass, interiors, electronics, and other parts sourced from the Uyghur Region could be linked to forced labour.
  • The Uyghur Region is being developed into a centre for lithium extraction and lithium processing and production are increasing as well. EV components including lithium-ion batteries are increasingly at high risk of being produced with Uyghur forced labour.
  • The Uyghur Region is becoming a global hub for the processing of nickel, copper and manganese, which are minerals used in EV batteries.
  • Over 100 international manufacturers of automotive parts or cars have some exposure to materials or products made with Uyghur forced labour. In 2022, two leading EV manufacturers were reported to have begun production in the Region.

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) went into effect in the United States on June 21, 2022. The UFLPA establishes a rebuttable presumption that the importation of any goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly, or in part, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Uyghur Region), or produced by certain entities implicated in forced labour, is prohibited by Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and that such goods, wares, articles, and merchandise are not entitled to entry to the U.S. The presumption also applies to goods made in, or shipped through, China and other countries that include inputs made in the Uyghur Region. Companies must provide clear and convincing evidence that goods are not mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by forced labour.

The Coalition is demanding that companies apply a single global standard, consistent with the requirements of the UFLPA, across their entire supply chain for all retail markets, including non-US markets, as the UFLPA is currently the highest legal standard to address Uyghur forced labour in supply chains. We also call on companies to refrain from re-exporting any goods denied entry to the U.S. under the auspices of the UFLPA and attempting to sell in other markets, which would create markets for goods tainted with forced labour. Specifically, we demand that companies comply fully with the UFLPA and:

  • Commit to apply a single global standard, aligned with the legal requirements set forth in the UFLPA, to exclude Uyghur forced labour across its supply chains, and to not bifurcate their supply chains.
  • Commit to not re-exporting goods detained under the auspices of the UFLPA to other markets.

We encourage shareholders and advocates to join us in calling on companies to make these commitments by asking:

  • Is the company applying a single global standard, aligned with the legal requirements set forth in the UFLPA, to exclude Uyghur forced labour across its supply chains, and to not bifurcate its supply chains?
  • Is the company committed to not re-exporting goods detained under the auspices of the UFLPA to other markets?
  • If the company is committed to the above statements, how is it implementing these commitments?
  • If the company is not committed to a single global standard, how is it ensuring that goods imported into markets other than the US are not tainted?

The Coalition equally calls on all companies, including those without a US market, to apply a single global standard, in line with the Coalition’s Call to Action and prevent the use of forced labour of Uyghur and other Turkic and Muslim-majority peoples / UFLPA, which includes a commitment to not bifurcate their supply chains. This demand is made in consideration of existing and forthcoming laws in other jurisdictions, particularly the EU and EU Member States, and to raise business standards globally.

[1] Data sourced from the Jewish World Watch Uyghur Forced Labor Database and the Reports page of the Coalition website.

For auto companies wishing to speak with the Coalition, please email [email protected].

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Photo by Lenny Kuhne on Unsplash