China Closes U.S. Auditor as Tensions Mount Over Forced Labor Allegations

SHENZHEN, China—Chinese authorities have shut down a U.S. labor auditor’s neighborhood China spouse, escalating Beijing’s campaign to counter pressured-labor allegations in its northwest Xinjiang region and perhaps complicating attempts by multinationals to certify offer chains in the nation.

China-based mostly Shenzhen Verite, which is affiliated with U.S. labor legal rights nonprofit Verite Inc., was shut following an April raid on its workplaces by Chinese security forces, according to folks with knowledge of the subject.

While Verite was a small player in China’s auditing business, firms which includes Walt Disney Co. and Apple Inc. have employed the Amherst, Mass.-dependent enterprise to consult on labor troubles at Chinese factories. The closure of its Shenzhen-based husband or wife signifies that Verite has successfully lost its skill to work in the Chinese sector, depriving providers of a probable channel to conduct labor audits and investigation in China.

The nonprofit also had a name for developing investigations that lent believability to corporations grappling with labor rights-associated issues, according to other auditors.

Disney declined to comment. Apple claimed the enterprise had made use of Verite on a minimal foundation in China, but not to conduct audits.