By Lisandra Paraguassu
BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil has stopped issuing temporary work visas for BYD (SZ:), the Foreign Ministry said on Friday, in the wake of allegations that some workers at a site owned by the Chinese electric vehicle maker had been victims of human trafficking.
The announcement came days after labor authorities said they had found 163 Chinese workers illegally brought to Brazil in “slavery-like” conditions at the construction site of the BYD factory in the northeastern state of Bahia. The workers were employed by contractor Jinjiang Group, which has denied any wrongdoing.
Later, authorities also said the workers were victims of human trafficking. The workers entered Brazil on temporary work visas, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The factory has become a symbol of China’s growing influence in the South American country and an example of a closer relationship between the two countries. BYD has invested $620 million in setting up the Bahia factory complex alone.
Brazil is the largest overseas market for BYD, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ministry’s decision.
The Chinese EV maker has said it plans to start production in Brazil early next year, with an initial annual output of 150,000 cars.
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 it issued to the Chinese workers.
The Justice Department had already sent a request to the State Department to suspend BYD’s temporary visa issuance on December 20, three days before the labor authorities’ findings were made public, a source with knowledge of the communication said.
The order was then forwarded to the Brazilian embassy in Beijing, the source added.
In a social media post on Thursday, reposted by a BYD spokesperson, Jinjiang Group rejected Brazilian authorities’ allegations about working conditions at the Bahia site.
The contractor said the portrayal of the workers as “enslaved” was inaccurate and that there had been translation misunderstandings.
BYD and Jinjiang Group have agreed to assist and house the 163 workers in hotels until an agreement is reached to terminate their contracts, Brazil’s labor prosecutor said in a statement on Thursday, after meeting with representatives from both companies.
Nearly one in five cars BYD sold outside China in the first eleven months of 2024 were in Brazil.
