Brazil decides to bans BYD's temporary work visas human trafficking investigation

Recently, Brazil's Foreign Ministry said it has stopped issuing temporary work visas for BYD. This has been done in the wake of allegations that some workers at a site owned by the Chinese electric vehicle maker have been victims of human trafficking.

The announcement comes a few days after labor officials said they had found 163 Chinese workers who were irregularly brought to Brazil in "slavery-like" conditions at a BYD factory construction site in the northeastern state of Bahia. These workers were employed by contractor Jinjiang Group, which has denied any wrongdoing.

Later, officials also said the workers were victims of human trafficking. According to the Foreign Ministry, the workers had entered Brazil on temporary work visas.

The factory has been a symbol of the growing Chinese influence in the South American nation and a prime example of the close ties between China and Brazil. BYD has invested US$ 620 million to set up the Bahia factory complex alone.

Brazil is the largest overseas market for BYD. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ministry's decision, media reported. The Chinese maker of electric cars has stated that it targets starting production in Brazil next year, with an early annual production capacity of about 150,000 per year.

Brazil's Justice Ministry said in a separate statement on Friday that if the irregularities found by prosecutors at the BYD factory are confirmed, it will revoke the residence permits issued to Chinese workers. According to the report, according to a source with knowledge of the letter, the Ministry of Justice sent a request to suspend the issuance of temporary visas to BYD to the Foreign Ministry on December 20, three days before the labor officials' findings were made public.

The order was then sent to the Brazilian embassy in Beijing, said the source. In a post on social media on Thursday - reposted by a BYD spokesperson, Jinjiang Group rejected allegations by Brazilian officials about working conditions at the Bahia site.

A contractor with whom the workers have interacted earlier expressed that portraying workers as "slaves" is not true and there are misunderstandings in translation. BYD and the Jinjiang Group will put the 163 workers up in hotels and look after them pending a final agreement to allow the termination of their contracts, according to a statement released by Brazil's labor prosecutor's office after a Thursday meeting of representatives from both sides.

Nearly one out of every five BYD cars sold outside China in the first 11 months of 2024 were sold in Brazil.