Gallagher, Krishnamoorthi Urge Volkswagen Group to Cease Operations in Xinjiang, Comply with UFLPA After Thousands of Vehicles Reportedly Blocked at Border for Forced Labor Components

WASHINGTON, D.C. — 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 or continue reading below.

Background:

The U.S. government under both President Trump and Biden have determined that the Chinese Communist Party is committing genocide against Uyghur people in Xinjiang, China – characterized by the sterilization of Uyghur women, detainment of millions in concentration camps, and relocation of thousands to forcibly labor in factories around China.

In 2013, Volkswagen entered a joint venture with a Chinese government state-owned entity to build a factory in Xinjiang. Recent reports allege that the Chinese government relocated Uyghurs to work as forced laborers at this Xinjiang factory, under the guise of ‘poverty alleviation campaigns.’

In 2021, Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The legislation bans all imports from Xinjiang, unless importers can verify that products are not tainted by forced labor. The reports of U.S. customs blocking Volkswagen vehicles for containing forced labor components indicate that Volkswagen must enhance its efforts to comply with the UFLPA.

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Dear Mr. Blume:

We write to express our deep concern over recent reports that thousands of vehicles made by Volkswagen Group (e.g. Porsches, Bentleys, Audis, etc.) were blocked from importation by the U.S. government because the vehicles contained parts made by forced labor in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). We request that Volkswagen fully comply with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) by removing all products from its global supply chain that contain inputs made in-whole or-in part with forced labor in the PRC. We also 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.

In 2013, Volkswagen opened a factory in Xinjiang as a joint venture with the PRC state-owned SAIC Motor Co. Ltd. (SAIC). The factory continues to operate to this day, and it is understood to employ roughly 200 people. According to a recent open-source report, Volkswagen used forcibly transferred Uyghur laborers to build and manage various aspects of the facility. Volkswagen also reportedly employed Uyghur laborers that were subject to PRC state-sponsored “poverty alleviation campaigns." According to the U.S. government’s Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory, labor transfers and affiliations with “poverty alleviation campaigns” are both warning signs of PRC state-sponsored forced labor. The United Nations stated that these PRC state-sponsored activities in Xinjiang may constitute “crimes against humanity.”

Volkswagen’s problematic connections to Xinjiang extend beyond its joint venture with the PRC government. In response to its vehicles being blocked from importation to the United States as reported by the Financial Times on February 14, 2024, a Volkswagen spokesperson said the cars only contained “one tiny part” made with Uyghur forced labor. Volkswagen should not seek to brush off or minimize evidence of Uyghur forced labor within its supply chain when the UFLPA explicitly bans the importation into the United States of any products, regardless of size, made in-whole or in-part with such forced labor.

In light of evidence of forced labor within Volkswagen’s supply chain as well as its continued operations in Xinjiang, we call on Volkswagen to immediately cease all operations in Xinjiang and to expand its efforts to comply with the UFLPA. It is vital to both of us, as part of our work on the Select Committee investigating and understanding the wide range of human rights violations occurring in the PRC, that Volkswagen explain its operations in Xinjiang and what steps it is taking to comply with the UFLPA.

The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party has broad authority to “investigate and submit policy recommendations on the status of the Chinese Communist Party’s economic, technological, and security progress and its competition with the United States” under H. Res. 11. 

To fulfill the Select Committee’s ongoing oversight responsibilities, we request a written response or briefing as soon as possible, but no later than March 5, 2024. Thank you for your attention to this important matter and your prompt reply.