Apple is facing a potential lack of components due to China running out of power, but that may not matter if a formal complaint requesting an import ban on Apple’s products is successful.
The complaint was filed today with US Customs and Border Protection by the Campaign for Accountability (CfA) as part of its Tech Transparency Project (TTP) research initiative. The research carried out before the complaint was filed is apparently based on “hard evidence” that Apple is using forced labor to produce the products it sells in the US. The CfA describes itself as a “nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog organization that uses research, litigation, and aggressive communications to expose misconduct and malfeasance in public life.”
The organizetion cites the Tariff Act of 1930 in its complaint against Apple, which “prohibits the importation of merchandise mined, produced or manufactured, wholly or in part, in any foreign country by forced or indentured labor – including forced child labor. Such merchandise is subject to exclusion and/or seizure, and may lead to criminal investigation of the importer(s).”
Rather than just being a general complaint, the CfA is giving examples of how Apple is currently reliant on forced labor. Using “shipping records and Chinese documentation,” it’s claimed Apple’s retail uniforms are produced by Esquel Group using forced labor in Xinjiang. Lens Technology, which is cited as producing touch screen glass for the iPhone, is accused of using forced labor and thousands of workers, including Uyghurs, at facilities in Hunan Province and Jiangxi.
Other Apple suppliers and partners mentioned as having links to forced labor include Avary Holdings, O-Film Group, and Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology. In all cases, CfA says Apple is “unable or unwilling to conduct basic due diligence research on its partners in China, or to acknowledge its repeated use of forced labor in China,” and that “Apple’s repeated claims to have “thoroughly investigated” the forced labor issue are questionable.”
It’s unclear what, if any action this formal complaint will trigger. However, the CfA’s motives are clear—it wants to “spur the company to respect the rights of Uyghurs and take seriously its stated commitment to human rights and a safe, noncoercive workplace” and hopes the involvement of the US Customs and Border Protection will be the tipping point for Apple.
