According to a report released by the United States Senate on Monday (May 20th), German automaker BMW imported at least 8,000 Mini Cooper cars to the United States, with electronic components from a sanctioned Chinese supplier.
The report from the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Ron Wyden of the Democratic Party from Oregon, stated that BMW imported 8,000 Mini Cooper cars to the United States with parts sourced from a Chinese supplier sanctioned under a 2021 U.S. law, which prohibits the export of these components to the U.S. BMW, at least until April, continued to import products containing banned components.
BMW Group stated in an email that they have taken measures to stop importing the affected products.
The company mentioned that they will launch a service action, replacing specific parts, and added that they have strict standards and policies regarding employee hiring, human rights protection, and working conditions for their automotive parts suppliers.
In 2021, the U.S. Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to strengthen enforcement efforts and prevent the import of goods believed to be produced by forced labor of Uyghur minorities in the Xinjiang region of China.
Senator Wyden stated that “Automobile manufacturers’ self-regulation clearly hasn’t worked.” He also urged Customs and Border Protection to “take a series of specific actions, increase enforcement efforts, and combat companies suspected of aiding and abetting despicable forced labor practices in China”.
The Senate report revealed that California-based automotive supplier Bourns Inc. procured components from Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group, a company from China. This Chinese company was added to the UFLPA sanctions list in December 2023, indicating its products are presumed to be manufactured using forced labor.
Bourns provided components from Jingweida to Lear Corp, a direct supplier for BMW and Jaguar Land Rover.
Bourns notified Lear Corp in January that electronic components, namely LAN Transformers produced by Jingweida, were prohibited for use in U.S. imported cars.
On January 11th, Lear Corp wrote to BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, and Volkswagen, informing them that these components were part of the banned products. Lear Corp verified that they promptly informed customers of “products containing these components, and worked with our suppliers to quickly transfer production of these components to another secondary supplier.”
The report mentioned that Jaguar Land Rover imported spare parts containing Jingweida components after December last year, and has since isolated all existing inventory containing said components worldwide for destruction.
Jaguar Land Rover stated that upon discovering this issue, the company “immediately halted all shipments of two affected aftermarket service components”.
The company added that they “take human rights and forced labor issues seriously, and have an ongoing plan that actively includes human rights protection and anti-slavery measures.”
However, the report stated that BMW “seemingly stopped importing only after detailed inquiries to Lear Corp and Lear’s original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers, including BMW, by the Senate committee.”
Lear Corp affirmed that they are taking the committee’s questions seriously and support the committee’s desire to combat forced labor, while noting they have no direct relationship with Jingweida.
Furthermore, Volkswagen confirmed earlier this year that thousands of Porsche, Bentley, and Audi cars were detained at U.S. ports due to a subcontractor in China violating the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The report from the Senate mentioned that Volkswagen vehicles contain electronic components produced by Jingweida.
The report also mentioned that Volvo Cars has received the LAN Transformers intended for an upcoming new car project, but as the project has not launched yet, the components have not been used.
(This article referenced reporting from Reuters)