More than 1,000 shipments of solar energy components worth hundreds of millions of dollars have piled up at US ports since June under a new law banning imports from China’s Xinjiang region over slavery concerns, according to federal customs officials and industry sources.
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 energy equipment from June 21, when the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act took effect, to Oct. 25, he told Reuters in response to a public records request. , adding that none of the missions have yet been released. The agency would not reveal the manufacturers or confirm details about the amount of solar equipment in the shipments, citing federal law protecting confidential trade secrets. Three industry sources with knowledge of the matter, however, told Reuters that the products in custody 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 , Trina Solar Co Ltd and JinkoSolar Holding Co. 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. Neither China’s foreign ministry nor the China Photovoltaic Industry Association immediately responded to requests for comment. Last month, Li Gao, head of the climate change office at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said some countries were “making up reasons to crack down on Chinese solar companies… harming the global collective effort to combat climate change.” 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. The EU has also proposed banning products from Xinjiang, but has not implemented it. The White House said President Biden will hold talks Monday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia, their first face-to-face meeting since Biden became president in January. 2021. Biden, asked as he left the White House Thursday afternoon if he thought the talks would be productive, replied: “I always think my talks are productive.” (AFP, REUTERS)
