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CLEAN CARS, HIDDEN TOLL: EV makers' use of Chinese suppliers raises concerns about forced labor
CLEAN CARS, HIDDEN TOLL
EV makers’ use of Chinese suppliers raises concerns about forced labor
U.S. law barring parts and products from the Xinjiang region poses a challenge for Tesla and other auto companies
Trucks outside Tesla's Gigafactory in Shanghai. The electric vehicle maker relies on China not only as a supplier but also as a market, selling about 40 percent of its new cars in the country. (Raul Ariano/Bloomberg News)
By Evan Halper
Sept. 18 at 5:00 p.m.
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https://wapo.st/3PKhl0b
Tesla boasts that its electric vehicles are a marvel not just of innovation but also ethics, pledging in annual reports that it will “not knowingly accept products or services from suppliers that include forced labour or human trafficking in any form.” The carmaker touts its teams of monitors that travel to mining operations around the world, and has pledged to mount a camera at an African mine to prevent the use of underage or slave labor.
But Tesla has been conspicuously silent when it comes to China, despite evidence that materials that go into its vehicles come from the Xinjiang region, where forced labor has been rampant. Firms that appear to undermine a U.S. ban on products made in Xinjiang emerge near the top of Tesla’s sprawling network of suppliers, according to a Washington Post examination of corporate records and Chinese media reports. Among them are companies that have openly complied with China’s quotas for moving minority Muslim Uyghurs out of rural villages and into factory towns through what Chinese authorities call “labor transfers” or “surplus labor employment.”
Tesla is among several EV companies that have suppliers with Xinjiang connections, records show. Ford has a deal with a battery maker that congressional investigators allege has ties to vast lithium mining and processing operations in Xinjiang, and Volkswagen operates a factory in the region with a Chinese partner.
Though not all labor in Xinjiang is forced, China’s lockdown on information flowing from the region led the U.S. government last year to bar the import of any Xinjiang-made parts and products out of a concern they could be made with coerced labor.
The companies’ kid-glove approach on China and potential violations of U.S. law come as the White House and powerful congressional committees scrutinize the EV industry, which is booming as automakers race to gain the upper hand in the transition to climate-friendly battery-powered engines. The situation in Xinjiang is a key point of tension in the strained relationship between China and the West, as the United States and allies step up enforcement of penalties on industries operating there.
{snip}
By Evan Halper
Evan Halper is a business reporter for The Washington Post, covering the energy transition. His work focuses on the tensions between energy demands and decarbonizing the economy. He came to The Post from the Los Angeles Times, where he spent two decades, most recently covering domestic policy and presidential politics from its Washington bureau. Twitter https://twitter.com/evanhalper
EV makers’ use of Chinese suppliers raises concerns about forced labor
U.S. law barring parts and products from the Xinjiang region poses a challenge for Tesla and other auto companies
Trucks outside Tesla's Gigafactory in Shanghai. The electric vehicle maker relies on China not only as a supplier but also as a market, selling about 40 percent of its new cars in the country. (Raul Ariano/Bloomberg News)
By Evan Halper
Sept. 18 at 5:00 p.m.
Share
https://wapo.st/3PKhl0b
Reporter Evan Halper spent months mapping the opaque China-based supply chains behind the production of millions of electric vehicles. With the help of researchers, he pieced together hundreds of financial disclosures, company communications, social media postings, reports from Xinjiang news outlets and contracts to reach the findings in this project. Halper covers energy for The Washington Post’s business desk.
Tesla boasts that its electric vehicles are a marvel not just of innovation but also ethics, pledging in annual reports that it will “not knowingly accept products or services from suppliers that include forced labour or human trafficking in any form.” The carmaker touts its teams of monitors that travel to mining operations around the world, and has pledged to mount a camera at an African mine to prevent the use of underage or slave labor.
But Tesla has been conspicuously silent when it comes to China, despite evidence that materials that go into its vehicles come from the Xinjiang region, where forced labor has been rampant. Firms that appear to undermine a U.S. ban on products made in Xinjiang emerge near the top of Tesla’s sprawling network of suppliers, according to a Washington Post examination of corporate records and Chinese media reports. Among them are companies that have openly complied with China’s quotas for moving minority Muslim Uyghurs out of rural villages and into factory towns through what Chinese authorities call “labor transfers” or “surplus labor employment.”
Tesla is among several EV companies that have suppliers with Xinjiang connections, records show. Ford has a deal with a battery maker that congressional investigators allege has ties to vast lithium mining and processing operations in Xinjiang, and Volkswagen operates a factory in the region with a Chinese partner.
Though not all labor in Xinjiang is forced, China’s lockdown on information flowing from the region led the U.S. government last year to bar the import of any Xinjiang-made parts and products out of a concern they could be made with coerced labor.
The companies’ kid-glove approach on China and potential violations of U.S. law come as the White House and powerful congressional committees scrutinize the EV industry, which is booming as automakers race to gain the upper hand in the transition to climate-friendly battery-powered engines. The situation in Xinjiang is a key point of tension in the strained relationship between China and the West, as the United States and allies step up enforcement of penalties on industries operating there.
{snip}
About this story
Reporting by Evan Halper. Photography by James Forde, Shuran Huang, Lauren Justice, Leah Nash and Stephen Speranza.
Design by Lucy Naland. Development by Irfan Uraizee. Graphic by Júlia Ledur.
Sandhya Somashekhar was the lead editor. Editing by Haley Hamblin, Courtney Kan, Vanessa H. Larson, Olivier Laurent, Joe Moore, Martha Murdock and Alan Sipress.
Additional support from Steven Bohner, Matt Clough, David Dombrowski, Gwen Milder, Sarah Murray, Andrea Platten, Tyler Remmel, Erica Snow and Daniela Vivas Labrador.
Clean cars, hidden toll
As the global demand for electric cars begins to outpace the demand for gas-powered cars, Washington Post reporters set out to investigate the unintended consequences of a global EV boom. This series explores the impact of securing the minerals needed to build and power electric vehicles on local communities, workers and the environment.
By Evan Halper
Evan Halper is a business reporter for The Washington Post, covering the energy transition. His work focuses on the tensions between energy demands and decarbonizing the economy. He came to The Post from the Los Angeles Times, where he spent two decades, most recently covering domestic policy and presidential politics from its Washington bureau. Twitter https://twitter.com/evanhalper
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