Instant Forced Labor Risk Screening for Your Automotive Supply Chain
With the automotive industry facing increased scrutiny over the likelihood of forced labor in their car supply chains, a critical need for better multi-tier and trade visibility has emerged.
Sayari, a counterparty and supply chain risk platform, has been helping car companies looking to tackle these automotive supply chain issues head-on. By layering corporate ownership data with import-export information from 65+ reporting countries, our platform makes it easy for auto supply chain teams to validate intelligence gathered from direct suppliers, build targeted multi-tier supply chain maps, and discover hidden forced labor risk.
With integrated government watchlists and data sourced directly from Sheffield Hallam reports, including one focused on the auto supply chain, Sayari allows importers to automatically scan supplier lists for 75+ built-in risk indicators, 20+ of which are focused specifically on Xinjiang forced labor. Agencies across 10 departments of the U.S. government, including CBP, leverage Sayari data and graph visualizations in their regulatory and investigative efforts.
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Forced Labor Risk Assessment for Automotive Supply Chain Management
Why is forced labor such a critical concern for the automotive industry right now?
In recent months, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has increased its focus on the automotive industry. This comes off the heels of the passing of the UFLPA and a report published by Sheffield-Hallam University that found 96 car brands with ties to forced labor, with hundreds that were at risk for complicity.
The average car has around 30,000 parts, each with its own set of inputs. Multiplied across the number of models for a given manufacturer, this likelihood puts every major car brand at high risk for sourcing exposure to Xinjiang forced labor.
“Car companies are under a tremendous amount of political and economic pressure to break into the EV market, but three-quarters of the world’s lithium-ion batteries are made in China,” says Richard Mojica, Lead at Miller & Chevalier, a law firm specializing in the automotive industry and trade law. “Deeper supply chain visibility is paramount to automakers’ survival in this climate.”
What are some red flags that manufacturers need to watch out for?
Importers face substantial barriers to effective supply chain visibility. Direct suppliers can resist requests for information, and what information they do provide must be verified. But even those fortunate enough to have cooperative direct suppliers struggle for insight into sub-tier sources further up their chain.
Additionally, seemingly low-risk inputs can turn out to have possible ties to forced labor through transhipment or corporate ownership. Automotive companies therefore need insight not just into their direct suppliers’ owners and subsidiaries, but also their trading partners.
Which raw materials are especially risky?
Electronics, metal (including steel and aluminum to make car frames, axels, and other components), are high-risk, along with tires, interiors, windshields, batteries, and other parts. There are dozens of materials and a myriad of ways that could indirectly link a brand to Xinjiang forced labor because even if certain raw materials are not originally sourced in the XUAR region, they could still be processed there.
What can manufacturers do to mitigate their forced labor risk?
Forced labor is a global problem that requires cooperation from many stakeholders on every level to effectively combat. For car companies, it is recommended by many (including the Sheffield-Hallam University Report) that the first step is to conduct their own supply chain mapping in order to screen their networks for possible risks. While many in the industry point to a lack of visibility into their supply chains as their primary roadblock, purpose-built technology can help.
By layering corporate ownership data with import-export information from 65+ reporting countries, Sayari Graph makes it easy for auto supply chain teams to validate intelligence gathered from direct suppliers, build targeted multi-tier supply chain maps, and discover hidden forced labor risk.
With integrated government watchlists and data sourced directly from Sheffield Hallam reports, Sayari allows importers to automatically scan supplier lists for 75+ risk indicators, 20+ of which are focused specifically on Xinjiang forced labor.
How Sayari helps Automotive Companies Comply with the UFLPA
Rely on the same data CBP uses
Leverage a DHS CBP UFLPA Entity List enriched with 5K previously unidentified subsidiaries, joint ventures, branches & affiliates
Quickly identify Xinjiang forced labor risk for UFLPA compliance
Search and view profiles on 1.6M corporate entities geolocated in Xinjiang Province as well as 91M Chinese company profiles including 20+ forced labor Risk Factors, including subtier trade linked to Xinjiang.
Translate Chinese entity names and records
Navigate foreign languages with embedded translation and transliteration tools
UFLPA Tutorial
Watch a step-by-step tutorial on uncovering links to Xinjiang forced labor in global supply chains.