cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5018646
From Thailand to Brazil, a surge of imports from Chinese electric vehicle (EV) producer BYD has the familiar pattern of being followed by the destruction of domestic automotive jobs. The UK is unlikely to be the exception. This week’s news that Britain has become the number one market for BYD should ring alarm bells. Our domestic automotive producers, that have already announced thousands of job losses this year, are unlikely to emerge unharme.
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Chinese EV producers have a track record of flooding previously open automotive markets in Thailand, Turkey, and Brazil, with supply quickly outstripping demand. The domestic automotive industry then pays the price of increased Chinese market share with job losses and factory closures.
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[In Brazil], in the same month that BYD’s car carrier arrived in the country, Brazilian prosecutors announced plans to sue BYD and two of its contractors for ‘slave like conditions’ at a factory site. BYD has previously said it has ‘zero tolerance for violations of human rights and labour laws.’
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Seeking to shut the stable door after the horse has bolted, Turkey and Brazil have imposed tariffs on foreign EV imports and introduced other restrictions with limited effect in resurrecting their domestic automotive industries. The UK will soon face a similar choice between erecting tariffs and increasing taxpayer support to keep its domestic automotive sector afloat, or letting it wither further on the vine.
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Ah yes, the hallmark of capitalism; if someone offers a cheaper better product than you, just ban it.
[In Brazil], in the same month that BYD’s car carrier arrived in the country, Brazilian prosecutors announced plans to sue BYD and two of its contractors for ‘slave like conditions’ at a factory site. BYD has previously said it has ‘zero tolerance for violations of human rights and labour laws.’
Yeah and some mcdonalds were found hiring kids under 14 and half the parts used in Ford plants are made by teens. Corporate policy often cant control what local managers do without lots of expensive in person inspections, especially in countries with poor internet infrastructure.
BYD’s entire supply chain is fully vertically integrated. Also, workers in BYD’s factories in Brazil and elsewhere are exclusively Chinese migrant workers. BYD knows exactly what goes on.
I sincerely dont believe you know what fully integrated means, given BYD uses contractors for labor and parts. BYD had zero employees on site after construction of the factory.
In Brazil,
The Chinese workers hired by BYD contractor Jinjiang in Brazil had to hand over their passports to their new employer, let most of their wages be sent directly to China, and fork over an almost $900 deposit that they could only get back after six months’ work, according to a labor contract.
They know what’s giong on. It’s all Chinese, including the contractors.
So… you’re just racist? ‘Its all chinese, so they must be in cahoots’? Weird way to come out little buddy. I gotta say thats one of the worst possible things you could’ve said.
A task force led by Brazilian prosecutors said it rescued 163 Chinese nationals working in “slavery-like” conditions at a construction site […] where Chinese electric vehicle company BYD is building a factory.
The [Brazilian] Labor Prosecutor’s Office released videos of the dorms where the [Chinese] construction workers were staying, which showed beds with no mattresses and rooms without any places for the workers to store their personal belongings.
Officials said [BYD contractor] Jinjiang […] had confiscated the workers’ passports and held 60% of their wages. Those who quit would be forced to pay the company for their airfare from China, and for their return ticket, the statement said.
Prosecutors said the sanitary situation at BYD’s site in Camaçari was especially critical, with only one toilet for every 31 workers, forcing them to wake up at 4 a.m. to line up and get ready to leave for work at 5:30 a.m.
Import substitution is a common strategy of developing countries.
