WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Finance Committee asked eight major automakers, including General Motors, Tesla, Ford and Honda to answer questions about their Chinese supply chains, according to letters made public on Thursday.
In June, a U.S. law took effect banning the import of forced-labor goods from Xinjiang, in a pushback against Beijing’s treatment of China’s Uyghur Muslim minority, which Washington has labeled genocide.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden wrote the chief executives of major automakers inquiring about Chinese supply chain issues, saying “it is vital that automakers scrutinize their relationships with all suppliers linked to Xinjiang.”
Beijing denies abuses in Xinjiang, but says it had established “vocational training centers” to curb terrorism, separatism and religious radicalism.
The letters, which were also sent to Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen Group, Chrysler parent Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz, said “unless due diligence confirms that components are not linked to forced labor, automakers cannot and should not sell cars in the United States that include components mined or produced in Xinjiang.”
Wyden wants to know whether the automakers have ever canceled or curtailed use of any supplier “because of its use of raw materials, mining, processing, or parts manufacturing linked to Xinjiang?”
