Letter to Volkswagen After Thousands of Vehicles Reportedly Blocked at Border for Forced Labor Components
After U.S. customs reportedly blocked thousands of Porsche, Bentley, and Audi vehicles made by Volkswagen Group for containing parts made with forced labor in Xinjiang, Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party wrote to Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume, urging Volkswagen to immediately comply with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) within its global supply chain. Separately, the lawmakers called on Volkswagen to cease operations in Xinjiang, China where it maintains a factory with a joint venture backed by the Chinese government.
In the letter, Chairman Gallagher and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi wrote, “We urge Volkswagen to cease its operations in Xinjiang, where the U.S. government has determined that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is conducting an ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities."
Since 2013, Volkswagen has partnered SAIC Motor Corp. a People's Republic of China state-owned entity, to construct and operate a factory in Xinjiang, the region where the Chinese government is waging genocide against Uyghur Muslims. Recent reporting indicates that the Xinjiang Volkswagen factory employed Uyghur forced laborers.
In light of the recent reports of vehicles containing parts made with prohibited forced labor, the lawmakers also wrote, “Volkswagen should not seek to brush off or minimize evidence of Uyghur forced labor within its supply chain when the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act explicitly bans the importation into the United States of any products, regardless of size, made in-whole or in-part with such forced labor.”
They also called for “Volkswagen [to] explain its operations in Xinjiang and what steps it is taking to comply with the UFLPA.”
Chairman Gallagher and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi gave the Volkswagen CEO until March 5, 2024 to respond.
View the lawmakers letter HERE