America’s retail giants have spent a decade ignoring signs of labor abuse in their supply chains, sometimes fighting government efforts to crack down even as thousands of truckers were driven into debt and poverty, a USA TODAY Network investigation has found...

Reporters contacted two dozen retailers whose goods were moved by port trucking companies accused of labor violations.

Seventeen declined to comment or did not respond to multiple interview requests; the rest sent brief statements about their corporate responsibility policies.

“I wanted to let you know we aren’t going to be able to help with this story,” Nike spokesman ... said...

“Regretfully we are not able to provide a response at this time,” Costco ... wrote...

“We’re not trying to wash our hands of this issue,” [LG Electronics] spokesman ... said..., “but it’s frankly far afield” and “really very disconnected from LG Electronics.” ...

“Target doesn’t have anything to share here,” [a] spokeswoman ... said...

Retailers’ response to the port trucking situation stands at odds with the public image of corporate responsibility the industry has tried to cultivate for years...

Experts say the apparent inconsistency between overseas policy and stateside inaction is troubling but not surprising, because the spotlight hasn’t been on American companies...

*Sourced by RepRisk due diligence on ESG and business conduct risks, www.reprisk.com.