Component made from forced labor?
Thousands of Volkswagens stuck in US ports
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While the VW Group is apparently considering a withdrawal from China's Xinjiang region, it is already facing new allegations of human rights violations. The USA is not allowing new cars into the country because they are said to contain a component made from Chinese forced labor.
Around 13,000 new cars from the Volkswagen Group are stuck in American ports. The car manufacturer confirmed this to the “Handelsblatt”. Due to a “small electronic component” in a control unit, the Audi, Porsche and Bentley models are not allowed to be delivered. According to research by the “Financial Times” (FT), the component from western China violates a US law against forced labor. The USA prohibits the import of products that were manufactured using forced labor in the Chinese Uighur region of Xinjiang and other areas of China.
Volkswagen had no knowledge of the origin of the component from a subcontractor until a supplier alerted the carmaker to the problem, a Volkswagen spokesman explained. VW immediately informed the US authorities. “We will clarify the matter and then take appropriate steps. This may include terminating a supplier relationship if our investigations confirm serious violations.”
The components are already being replaced, but according to the FT, delivery of the cars will be delayed until the end of March. According to information from the “Handelsblatt”, it is a control unit that enables communication between different components. Depending on the model, the part can be replaced within half an hour.
VW apparently negotiating withdrawal from Urumqi
The Wolfsburg-based company is under massive pressure because of its plant in Xinjiang and is apparently considering withdrawing from there. The group is negotiating with its Chinese partner SAIC about selling its subsidiaries in the western Chinese province, reported the “Handelsblatt”. The newspaper announced on Wednesday that forced laborers were used to build a test track. According to insiders, the talks with the state-owned company SAIC were conducted discreetly, also so as not to offend the Chinese.
According to previous information, almost 200 people work in the jointly operated VW plant in Urumqi in Xinjiang, around 50 of whom belong to the Muslim Uighur minority. From a purely business perspective, the small plant is irrelevant for the Lower Saxony company. But China is Volkswagen's largest single market – last year the company sold more than a third of its new cars there.
