In a recent development at the US ports, there are reports of a large number of vehicles belonging to the Volkswagen Group being confiscated. These vehicles include models from Porsche, Bentley, and Audi. The confiscation has been reported by the Financial Times (FT) on Wednesday with the information being sourced from insiders.
The reason behind this action stems from a discovery made by a supplier of Volkswagen. It was found that a component in the cars violated the law against forced labor. This violation has led to the immediate halt of the vehicles at the ports.
The report further suggests that the German car company has decided to delay the delivery of these vehicles until the end of March. The delay is to allow for the replacement of an important electronic component that was sourced from western China. Prior to the supplier’s alert, Volkswagen was unaware of the origin of this particular component. The component had been procured from an indirect supplier, further down the supply chain.
Upon learning of the component’s origin, Volkswagen promptly informed the US authorities, as per the “FT” report.
Import ban in the USA
The US has strict laws against the import of products that have been produced using forced labor, particularly in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region and other parts of China. However, Volkswagen chose not to comment on this issue as reported.
