Lawmakers Press Costco on China Forced Labor

The popular retailer was asked why products allegedly linked to human rights violations in China are on its shelves
Costco Wholesale faces questions from influential U.S. lawmakers over alleged links between forced labor in China and products sold in the retail giant’s stores.
Costco should explain why it continues to sell seafood and security cameras that are allegedly tied to human rights abuses in Xinjiang and elsewhere, said Rep. Chris Smith (R., N.J.) and Sen. Jeffrey Merkley (D., Ore.) in a letter to Costco Chief Executive W. Craig Jelinek. Smith and Merkley head the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, a group of lawmakers and executive branch officials that monitors human rights developments in the country.
Amid escalating bilateral tensions with China, Washington is increasingly singling out U.S. companies to demand answers about supply-chain links and other ties to the country.
In their letter to Jelinek, made public Wednesday, the lawmakers said Costco continues to sell China-sourced seafood despite reports detailing concerns about the use of forced labor in its production.
Smith and Merkley also questioned why Costco sells security cameras from Lorex, a former subsidiary of camera maker Zhejiang Dahua Technology that they said still uses Dahua components in its products. They asked whether Costco would stop selling these products.
Dahua, a China-based company whose cameras are banned from sale in the U.S., has helped aid Chinese government oppression in Xinjiang, the home of the Uyghur people and other minority groups, they said.
“We should both agree that American consumers should not be subsidizing horrific human rights abuses—by either Chinese security or seafood companies,” the lawmakers wrote.
A representative for Costco said “we are currently reviewing the letter, and we will respond in due course.”