Global Car Supply Chains’ Ties to Human Rights Violations in Xinjiang
The global auto industry continues to remain intricately tied to supply chains in China’s Xinjiang region, thereby becoming part of its human rights abuses, according to a new report.
The report, published in December by the Helena Kennedy Center for International Justice at the Sheffield Hallam University, identified 96 mining, processing, or manufacturing firms related to the automotive sector in the Xinjiang region. More than 40 Chinese manufacturers in the auto sector source from Xinjiang or from firms that have received Uyghur labor transfers. When it came to international automotive parts of car manufacturers, this number was at 50.
More than 100 international firms have some exposure to goods made from forced Uyghur labor. “Several major international auto manufacturers—including Volkswagen Audi Group, Honda, Ford, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz Group, Toyota, Tesla, Renault, NIO, and Stellantis Group—had several supply chain exposures to the Uyghur region,” the report states….