The level of the seizures, which has not been previously reported, reflects how a policy aimed at pressuring Beijing over Uyghur detention camps in Xinjiang risks slowing the Biden administration’s efforts to free up the US energy sector to fight climate change. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized 1,053 shipments of solar equipment between June 21, when the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act went into effect, and Oct. 25, he told Reuters in response to a request public records, adding that none of the shipments have yet been released. The agency did not reveal the manufacturers or confirm details about the amount of solar equipment in the shipments, citing a federal law that protects confidential trade secrets. Three industry sources with knowledge of the matter, however, told Reuters that the seized products include polysilicon panels and cells possibly with a capacity of up to 1 gigawatt and are made mainly by three Chinese manufacturers – Longi Green Energy Technology Co Ltd (601012. SS). Trina Solar Co Ltd (688599.SS) and JinkoSolar Holding Co (JKS.N). Combined, Longi, Trina and Jinko typically account for as much as one-third of US panel supplies. But the companies have halted new shipments to the United States due to concerns that additional cargo will be tied up, the industry sources said. The sources asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. China denies abuses in Xinjiang. Beijing initially denied the existence of detention camps, but later admitted it had set up “vocational training centers” necessary to curb what it said were terrorism, separatism and religious radicalism in Xinjiang. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular news briefing on Friday that allegations of the use of forced labor in Xinjiang were “the lie of the century fabricated by a small group of people against China” and would hinder the global response to climate change. change. . “The US side should immediately stop the unjustified crackdown on Chinese 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 for documentation that proves its supplies are not linked to forced labor and is “confident the shipments will be accepted.” Longi and Trina did not respond to requests for comment. The bottleneck is a challenge for U.S. solar development as the Biden administration seeks to free up the U.S. economy and implement the Inflationary Reduction Act (IRA), a new law that encourages clean energy technologies to fight climate change. Solar installations in the United States slowed 23% in the third quarter, and nearly 23 gigawatts of solar projects are behind schedule, largely because of the inability to acquire panels, according to the trade group American Clean Power Association. ACP urged the Biden administration to streamline the inspection process for imports. “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 goods from Xinjiang are made with forced labor and requires producers to show documentation of sourcing imported equipment back to the raw material to prove otherwise before the imports are cleared. CBP will not comment on the length of detentions or say when they may be released or dismissed. “Ultimately, it depends on how quickly an importer is able to submit sufficient documentation,” said CBP spokeswoman Rhonda Lawson. Longi, Trina and Jinko source most of their polysilicon from US and European suppliers including Hemlock Semiconductor, a Michigan-based joint venture between Corning Inc and Shin-Etsu Handotai Co Ltd, and Germany’s Wacker Chemie, the sources said of the industry. A Wacker spokesman would not comment on the US bookings, but said the company sources quartzite from suppliers in Norway, Spain and France. “Our procurement strategy gives us every reason to be confident that the products used in our supply chain are manufactured in a way that respects human rights,” said spokesman Christof Bachmair. Hemlock said in a statement that it sources all of its metallurgical-grade silicon from suppliers that use quartz mined in North and South America. CBP previously said it had seized about 1,700 shipments worth $516.3 million under the UFLPA through September, but had never before specified how many of those shipments contained solar equipment. The EU has also proposed banning products from Xinjiang, but has not implemented it. Report by Nichola Groom. Additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing and David Stanway in Shanghai. Editing: Richard Valdmanis, Lisa Shumaker, Lincoln Feast and David Evans Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
