A recent federal push for a switch to electric vehicles to support plans for a zero-emissions future has raised human rights concerns regarding the use of forced labor and child labor to mine elements vital in the production of rechargeable batteries.
In hopes of ensuring that Arizona is not supporting such practices, Sen. Frank Carroll, R-Sun City West, introduced Senate Bill 1341, which would prohibit any governmental entity from entering a contract to receive electric vehicles unless the vehicle manufacturer signs an affidavit swearing that none of the parties involved in the production of the vehicle utilize forced labor or child labor.
If the manufacturer is found to have provided false or misleading information regarding the use of illegal labor, they could face fines equal to $10,000 per misleading statement or half of what the governmental entity paid in the original contract, whichever amount is greater.
Even further, any employee of the manufacturer that intentionally violates the sworn agreement could also face the same fines of $10,000 per misleading statement — or the entire price paid by the governmental entity in the contract.
“This is specifically targeted at the fact that we have parts in vehicles, electric vehicles in particular, that are manufactured using forced labor, child labor, and this is because of communist China,” Carroll told the Senate Government Committee when it considered the bill on Feb. 14.
In 2021, Congress enacted the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to help ensure that American entities and consumers are not supporting the use of forced labor of ethnic minorities in China’s Xinjiang Region.
Since then, the U.S. has blocked all imports of goods produced even partially in Xinjiang, unless importers can provide “clear and convincing evidence” that the products were not made using forced labor.
Carroll says that SB1341 expands the main goal of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which is limited to the Xinjiang Region, to apply to materials sourced through Chinese operations worldwide, including in Africa.
“We’ve addressed other issues in the past with the Uyghurs… This is just a continuation of that effort,” Carroll said.
Beyond the products of forced labor in Xinjiang, China also owns a majority of the mining operations throughout the the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is home to about 70% of the world’s cobalt supply. Cobalt — along with other minerals such as nickel, lithium, and graphite — is essential in the creation of the lithium-ion batteries that power not only electric vehicles, but numerous other electronics, including cell phones and laptops.
But the mining of cobalt has been linked to human rights violations, including the use of child labor and forced labor on such a large scale that it has been likened to modern-day slavery. The U.S Department of Labor estimates that more than 25,000 children are working in Congo’s cobalt mines.
When asked why the bill only pertains to electric vehicles, Carroll said that he wanted to focus on the industry because Arizona is quickly becoming a global leader in producing EVs.
“The reason I picked this particular industry is because it’s at the forefront right now,” Carroll told the House Government committee on Mar. 20. “We have parts here that are going into these vehicles, and they may be made by forced labor.”
California-based electric vehicle company Lucid Motors recently expanded its facilities in Casa Grande, where it now manufactures two vehicle models.
A recent report examining the supply chain behind electric vehicle companies suggests a risk of illegal labor being used by entities that companies, including Lucid and EV industry leader Tesla, source their materials from.
“Given that the United States has a technical capability to produce these products through other avenues that are not tied to forced labor or child labor, we should be doing that,” Carroll said. “Instead of profit being the motive here, we should be looking at the benefit and the well-being of children and those that are subject to this kind of behavior.”
Since the federal government passed historic environmental laws in the 1970’s, public opinion has shifted against polluting industries, including mining, which led to America’s modern reliance on foreign sources of many minerals.
While the easy answer would be to ramp up mining production within the few deposits of these crucial elements available throughout the country, lack of profit has slowed many domestic operations to a halt. The only cobalt mine in the United States recently shut down, citing plummeting cobalt prices and steep operation costs.
Democratic Sen. Juan Mendez argued that SB1341 did not “go far enough” to address the state’s involvement with entities that utilize illegal labor, and instead targets an industry that has already proved to be a point of contention within the Republican Party.
“A quick Google search finds 15 corporations that are using forced or child labor. If proposals of this nature went after the corporations instead of the countries or just single industries, I could probably entertain this kind of idea, but in its current format it’s either too narrow or seems to pick on a single industry as if to signal virtue to a certain crowd,” he said.
House Assistant Minority Leader Oscar De Los Santos expressed similar sentiments when he voted against the bill in committee.
“I certainly appreciate the intent of the bill, and I think all of us would agree here that forced labor …is horrifying, oppressive and should be done away with, but I do have a serious concern that the bill does not go far enough,” he said. “It’s far too narrowly tailored to only one particular industry when other industries use the exact same batteries that are in electric vehicles, including phones and laptops.”
The bill has passed the Senate, which approved it on a 16-12 vote with only Republicans in support. It has received preliminary approval in the House of Representatives, but is awaiting a formal vote. If it passes the House, the bill would be sent to Gov. Katie Hobbs for her consideration.
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