by DCG
According to the Washington Post (consider the source), Apple lobbyists are trying to weaken a bill aimed at preventing forced labor in China. This information comes from “two congressional staffers familiar with the matter.”
From the WaPo story:
“The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act would require U.S. companies to guarantee they do not use imprisoned or coerced workers from the predominantly Muslim region of Xinjiang, where academic researchers estimate the Chinese government has placed more than 1 million people into internment camps. Apple is heavily dependent on Chinese manufacturing.”
Apple bigwigs have been speaking privately with staff working on the bill. Nothing has been publicly disclosed, of course.
Read the whole story here.
It is known that the Chicoms violate human rights and use forced labor to build many products. The Los Angeles Times reported in March 2020 that Muslim-minority Uighurs have been sent from “reeducation” camps in China’s Xinjiang province to factories across China, where they are forced to make consumer goods for the world. This includes products for Apple, Adidas, Nike and Sony.
This was reported by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, which advises the Australian government. Read the whole LA Times story here.
So which lobbying firm is working with Apple to supposedly water down the forced labor bill as it is currently written? It’s Fierce Government Relations, aka FGR. Let’s take a look at FGR, shall we?
As with most lobbying firms in the swamp, it’s full of former politicians and bureaucrats who use their connections to buy access for their clients to achieve their goal$.
Meet some members of their team:
Kirk Blalock: Former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and served as the National Chairman for Young Professionals for John McCain during the 2008 Presidential election.
Kirsten Chadwick: Served as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs under George W. Bush.
Kate Hull: Served as Senior Legislative Assistant to Senator Tim Hutchinson (R-Arkansas). Before joining Hutchinson’s staff, she worked on the legislative staff of Senator Bill Cohen (R-Maine).
Aleix Jarvis: Joined FGR in February of 2005 after ten years on the staff of Senator Lindsey Graham.
You get the idea: FGR staff has connections that will certainly enable favorable results for clients such as Apple. And as with most lobbying efforts in the swamp, they benefit rich stakeholders, not most Americans.
If President Trump is unable to successfully win a second term at the SCOTUS, you can expect A LOT more lobbying efforts on behalf of big tech companies that do a lot of business with the Chicoms. Efforts that will no doubt benefit Big Tech interests instead of American citizens.
DCG