Advocacy Group Urges Apple Shareholders to Vote for Reports on Dealings With China
The National Legal and Policy Center urged Apple shareholders to vote for a proposal appearing on their proxy ballots that would require Apple to file annual reports to the shareholders on the company's involvement with China. The recommendation came in a Proxy Memorandum sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission Feb. 14.
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The advocacy group cited the "unique, substantial, and pressing risk" that working with China presents and that it would affect "every aspect of its business." The letter noted that laws requiring more transparency in supply chains have been passed in the U.S. and other countries, including the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (see 2301270078). "The disclosures required by these laws could subject Apple to legal risks stemming from misrepresentation or failure to mitigate slavery-related issues in the supply chain," the NLPC said, noting that Starbucks and Nestle reportedly face lawsuits due to their use of forced labor.
Forced labor also poses risks to Apple's brand, the NLPC said. "Shareholders must have the ability to determine how Apple is specifically addressing the reputational and legal risks related to doing business with Communist China," the advocacy group said.
"[M]eaningful information about Apple’s assessment and response to China-related risks is missing, leaving shareholders in the dark as to the extent and nature of this risk," the letter said. It requested that the annual reports exclude "confidential business information but provide shareholders with a sense of the Company’s reliance on activities conducted within, and under control of, the Communist Chinese government."
Apple did not immediately respond to our request for comment.