Senate’s Warner Scolds Apple, Tesla for ‘Blind Eye’ Toward China

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner said he’s “disappointed” that companies such as Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. tout their ESG bona fides but neglect glaring environmental or human rights issues when relying on China for supply chains and sales.

Multinationals may highlight their commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance goals but also reason that “the Chinese markets, it’s so big, we’ve got to turn a blind eye” to abuses, Warner said in an interview with Bloomberg in New York. “Whether it’s oppression of the people in Hong Kong or whether it’s the Uyghurs or whether it’s using electrical power coming out of Xinjiang to build the batteries that go in your Tesla.”