Thread by @JChengWSJ

How can you ensure that Xinjiang factories aren't using forced labor? You can't, an increasing number of Western supply-chain auditing firms are concluding—a move that could force Western businesses doing work there to exit the region.
@evawxiao
on.wsj.com/2ZZkBKO

@evawxiao Five organizations—from France, Germany, Italy and two from the U.S.—have said they won’t provide labor-audit or inspection services in Xinjiang. The withdrawal of auditing groups adds to the difficulty for brands working with Xinjiang-based suppliers.
on.wsj.com/2ZZkBKO

@evawxiao Auditors face a range of challenges in Xinjiang. Auditors have reportedly been detained or threatened by Chinese authorities. Auditors may have to use government interpreters who convey misinformation when they are visiting factories employing Uighurs.
on.wsj.com/2ZZkBKO

@evawxiao Last year, police detained a team of auditors for more than 10 hours. Even when auditors do manage to conduct interviews, “telling the truth to an auditor would mean accusing the Chinese government of lying…No worker can be expected to take that risk.”
on.wsj.com/2ZZkBKO

@evawxiao On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill aimed at keeping goods made with the forced labor of detained ethnic minorities in China out of the U.S. "We may even pay a dime or two more for a pair of socks.”
bit.ly/2HptXJj