U.S. blocked more than 1,000 shipments of solar energy components at its ports due to slave labor in China
More than 1,000 shipments of solar power components worth hundreds of millions of dollars have piled up at U.S. ports since June under a new law banning imports from China’s Xinjiang region over concerns about slave labor, according to federal customs officials and industry sources.
The previously unreported level of bans and goods held up at ports of entry reflects how a policy aimed at increasing pressure on Beijing over its Uighur detention camps in Xinjiang risks slowing the Biden administration’s efforts to decarbonize the U.S. power sector to fight climate change.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 1,053 shipments of solar power equipment between June 21, when the Uighur Forced Labor Protection Act went into effect, and Oct. 25, it told Reuters in response to a public records request, adding that none of the shipments had been released.
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The agency did not disclose the manufacturers or confirm details about the amount of solar equipment in the shipments, citing federal law protecting confidential trade secrets.
However, three industry sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the detained products include polysilicon panels and cells likely amounting to 1 gigawatt of capacity and are made primarily by three Chinese manufacturers: Longi Green Energy Technology Co Ltd, Trina Solar Co Ltd, and JinkoSolar Holding Co (JKS.N).
Combined, Longi, Trina, and Jinko typically account for as much as one-third of U.S. panel supplies. But the companies have halted new shipments to the United States out of concern that additional shipments will also be stopped, industry sources said.
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China denies abuses in Xinjiang, and Beijing initially denied the existence of detention camps, but later admitted it had set up “vocational training centers” needed to curb what it said was terrorism, separatism and religious radicalism in Xinjiang.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular press briefing on Friday that claims about the use of forced labor in Xinjiang were “the lie of the century fabricated by a small group of anti-China people” and would hamper the global response to climate change … .
“The US should immediately stop the unreasonable suppression of China’s photovoltaic enterprises and release the seized solar panel components as quickly as possible,” he said. In an email, Jinko said it is working with CBP on documentation showing that its supplies are not linked to forced labor and that it is “confident the shipments will be admitted.”
Longi and Trina did not respond to requests for comment.The bans are a challenge to U.S. solar development at a time when the Biden administration is seeking to decarbonize the U.S. economy and implement the IRA, a new law that encourages clean energy technologies to combat climate change.
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Solar installations in the United States slowed 23% in the third quarter, and nearly 23 gigawatts of solar projects were delayed, largely due to an inability to obtain panels, according to trade group American Clean Power Association. ACP urged the Biden administration to expedite the import investigation process.
“After more than four months of reviewing solar panels under the UFLPA, none have been rejected and instead remain stuck in limbo with no end in sight,” it said in a statement.
The UFLPA essentially assumes that all Xinjiang products are made with forced labor and requires producers to show sourcing documentation of imported equipment down to the raw material to prove otherwise before imports can be authorized. CBP did not comment on the length of the detentions or say when they might be released or refused. “Ultimately, it depends on how quickly an importer can produce sufficient documentation,” said CBP spokeswoman Rhonda Lawson.
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Longi, Trina and Jinko get most of their polysilicon from U.S. and European suppliers such as Hemlock Semiconductor, a Michigan-based joint venture between Corning Inc and Shin-Etsu Handotai Co Ltd, and Wacker Chemie of Germany, industry sources said.
A Wacker spokesman would not comment on the U.S. detentions, but said the company sources quartzite from suppliers in Norway, Spain and France. “Our procurement strategy gives us every reason to be sure that the products used in our supply chain are manufactured with respect for human rights,” spokesman Christof Bachmair said.
Hemlock said in a statement that it sources all metallurgical-grade silicon from suppliers that use quartz mined in North and South America. CBP previously said it had stopped about 1,700 shipments worth $516.3 million under UFLPA through September, but had never before detailed how many of those shipments contained solar equipment.
The EU has also proposed a ban on Xinjiang products, but has not implemented it.
