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Washington has banned the importation of some solar products manufactured using forced labor in Xinjiang, where the Chinese government is accused of committing genocide against Uighurs.
The Biden administration has blocked imports of solar products made by Xinjiang Hoshine Silicon Industry according to information about the ban.
Polysilicon (a raw material used by the solar industry) also added five other companies that do polysilicon to the “entity list” of the trade department, which requires U.S. companies to secure a government license before doing business with them, people added.
The ban is the latest attempt by the Biden administration to put pressure on the Chinese government to allow 1 million Uyghurs and other islands to enter the interior of other Muslim minorities in the northwest. Xinjiang.
Earlier this year, the US worked with the EU, Canada and the UK to impose sanctions on Chinese officials in Xinjiang.
John Kerry, the U.S. international climate negotiator, told Congress last month that the U.S. was considering further sanctions, but did not make it clear whether this would lead to a ban on solar imports or new measures against Beijing officials.
The Trump administration last year imposed similar bans on imports of cotton and tomatoes from Xinjiang. Companies that start clothing retail and manufacture solar panels are under increasing pressure to ensure that they do not do forced labor in their supply chains.
Congress is also looking at legislation that would provide guarantees that companies should not be guaranteed that their supply chains are based on forced labor in Xinjiang.
Chinese officials and investigators have described allegations of forced labor to undermine the international competitiveness of the country’s solar industry.
The Foreign Ministry has recently ruled that those who make forced labor allegations in the solar supply chain are “black hands” with an anti-China agenda. “Their purpose is to prepare for lies about forced labor, to lose and disconnect jobs with Xinjiang,” he said.
An article published by the Beijing-based China Going Global Think Tank last month said the U.S. was trying to “eliminate China’s photovoltaic industry and promote the development of local industry and effectively gain global leadership.”
Speaking to the Financial Times before the end of the solar ban, John Smirnow, a senior executive at the Solar Energy Industry Association, said his group was “playing alarm clocks since last year” because of concerns Washington would raise against imports.
Smirnow said U.S. solar companies had “relatively significant” exposure to Xinjiang until a year ago, but that the companies had significantly reduced the proportion of products in their supply chains.
He said the companies realized that it would be very difficult to convince customs to allow solar imports from Xinjiang.
“Right now, due to Xinjiangen’s inability to conduct an independent third-party audit of forced labor, it will be nearly impossible to convince customs if you have a panel or product in that region.”
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