Apple's proposed changes to Uighur Forced Labor Prevent Act leak
Some of the changes that Apple proposed to a bill that seeks to prevent forced labor in China have surfaced in a new report, and include keeping some supply chain information from the public and extending a compliance deadline.
Credit: WikiCommons
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, among other provisions, prevents imports of goods manufactured in the predominantly Muslim region of Xinjiang unless companies can guarantee they weren't produced by coerced Uighur minorities in the region. Apple was said to be among the companies lobbying against the bill.
In a document reviewed by The New York Times, some of Apple's proposed changes include extending compliance deadlines; releasing certain supply chain information to Congress and not the public; and requiring Chinese entities to be "designated" by the U.S. government as helping to surveil or detain Uighurs in Xinjiang.
Apple disputed the claim that it tried to weaken the bill, the Times reported. In a statement, the company said it had the strongest supplier guidelines in the industry and added that it regularly audits its supply chain partners.
"Looking for the presence of forced labor is part of every supplier assessment we conduct and any violations of our policies carry immediate consequences, including business termination," Apple said. "Earlier this year, we conducted a detailed investigation with our suppliers in China and found no evidence of forced labor on Apple production lines and we are continuing to monitor this closely."
Earlier in 2020, Apple supplier O-film Tech was accused by the U.S. Commerce Department of human rights violations through the use of forced Uighur labor.
In March, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute identified Apple and other major U.S. companies as entities that have potentially benefitted -- either directly or indirectly -- from abusive labor transfer practices tied to Xinjiang. That report accused O-Film of receiving Uighur workers that were in a program aiming to "gradually alter their ideology." It also tied other suppliers, like Foxconn, to similar programs.
Apple in July said that ongoing investigations and audits of potential supply chain abuses have turned up no evidence of wrongdoing. And during a congressional hearing in July, Apple CEO Tim Cook called forced labor "abhorrent," and said Apple would no tolerate it in its supply chain.
In addition to Apple, other companies said to be lobbying against the bill include Coca-Cola, Nike, Costco, and Patagonia, among others.
Credit: WikiCommons
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, among other provisions, prevents imports of goods manufactured in the predominantly Muslim region of Xinjiang unless companies can guarantee they weren't produced by coerced Uighur minorities in the region. Apple was said to be among the companies lobbying against the bill.
In a document reviewed by The New York Times, some of Apple's proposed changes include extending compliance deadlines; releasing certain supply chain information to Congress and not the public; and requiring Chinese entities to be "designated" by the U.S. government as helping to surveil or detain Uighurs in Xinjiang.
Apple disputed the claim that it tried to weaken the bill, the Times reported. In a statement, the company said it had the strongest supplier guidelines in the industry and added that it regularly audits its supply chain partners.
"Looking for the presence of forced labor is part of every supplier assessment we conduct and any violations of our policies carry immediate consequences, including business termination," Apple said. "Earlier this year, we conducted a detailed investigation with our suppliers in China and found no evidence of forced labor on Apple production lines and we are continuing to monitor this closely."
Earlier in 2020, Apple supplier O-film Tech was accused by the U.S. Commerce Department of human rights violations through the use of forced Uighur labor.
In March, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute identified Apple and other major U.S. companies as entities that have potentially benefitted -- either directly or indirectly -- from abusive labor transfer practices tied to Xinjiang. That report accused O-Film of receiving Uighur workers that were in a program aiming to "gradually alter their ideology." It also tied other suppliers, like Foxconn, to similar programs.
Apple in July said that ongoing investigations and audits of potential supply chain abuses have turned up no evidence of wrongdoing. And during a congressional hearing in July, Apple CEO Tim Cook called forced labor "abhorrent," and said Apple would no tolerate it in its supply chain.
In addition to Apple, other companies said to be lobbying against the bill include Coca-Cola, Nike, Costco, and Patagonia, among others.
Comments
The only reasonable course of action for Apple is to move all production out of China. Take their billions of investment money and spread it around the world to more ethical countries. Bring a little bit of that production home too. Staying in China is like helping the Nazis build concentration camps in the 1940's.
Oh really? Apple is the only company to audit labor conditions. Surely there is no other reason besides some anti-Apple conspiracy?
Also you didn't read the article.
These are matters of ensuring legal certainty rather than make corporations live under a Damocles sword.
I think Apple wants to get out of China.
The problem is morons(especially iKnockoff morons) think Apple can start producing iPhones in the U.S. tomorrow or even next month. It will most likely take a decade for that to be possible.
Imagine Apple cancelling iPads, iPhones, Apple Watches and AirPods etc. from 2021-2031 just to manufacture in the U.S. and please morons who don't understand manufacturing? Is that a good idea?
Protecting the environment is way more important. What a dumb argument. If the environment goes to crap humans won't even exist but hey! At least we treated them well!
The problem with humans is they lack imagination. For example if you were to explain a modern apartment complex to someone in 1820, they would have sent you to the loony bin because AT THAT TIME they did not have the mental imagination to understand what was possible. Therefore, telling someone about a world destroyed with little natural food and smog in the air it sounds ludicrous but this is possible in 100 years or less.