MORE than 1,000 shipments of solar energy 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 level of seizures, which has not previously been reported, reflects how a policy intended to heap pressure on Beijing over its Uyghur 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 has seized 1,053 shipments of solar energy equipment between June 21, when the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act went into effect, and Oct. 25, it told Reuters in response to a public records request, adding none of the shipments have yet been released.
The agency would not reveal the manufacturers or confirm details about the quantity of solar equipment in the shipments, citing federal law that protects confidential trade secrets.
Three industry sources with knowledge of the matter, however, told Reuters the detained products include panels and polysilicon cells likely amounting to up to 1 gigawatt of capacity and primarily made 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 up to a third of U.S. panel supplies. But the companies have halted new shipments to the United States over concerns additional cargoes will also be detained, 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 any detention camps, but then later admitted it had set up "vocational training centers" necessary to curb what it said was terrorism, separatism and religious radicalism in Xinjiang.
Neither China’s foreign ministry nor the China Photovoltaic Industry Association responded immediately to requests for comment.
Last month, Li Gao, the head of the climate change office at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said some countries "fabricate reasons to suppress China’s photovoltaic enterprises...damaging the global collective effort to fight climate change".
In an email, Jinko said it is working with CBP on documentation proving its supplies are not linked to forced labor and is "confident the shipments will be admitted."
Longi and Trina did not respond to requests for comment.
The bottleneck is a challenge to U.S. solar development at a time the Biden administration is seeking to decarbonize the U.S. economy and implement the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a new law that encourages clean energy technologies to combat climate change.
Solar installations in the United States slowed by 23% in the third quarter, and nearly 23 gigawatts of solar projects are delayed, largely due to an inability to obtain panels, according to the American Clean Power Association trade group.
ACP urged the Biden administration to streamline the vetting process for imports.
"After more than four months of solar panels being reviewed under UFLPA, none have been rejected and instead they remain stuck in limbo with no end in sight," it said in a statement.
The UFLPA essentially presumes that all goods from Xinjiang are made with forced labor and requires producers to show sourcing documentation of imported equipment back to the raw material to prove otherwise before imports can be cleared.
CBP would not comment on the length of the detainments or say when they might be released or rejected. "Ultimately, it is contingent upon how quickly an importer is able to submit sufficient documentation," CBP spokesperson Rhonda Lawson said.
Longi, Trina and Jinko source 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 Germany's Wacker Chemie, the industry sources said.
A Wacker spokesperson would not comment on the U.S. detainments 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 made in a manner that respects human rights," spokesperson Christof Bachmair said.
Hemlock said in a statement that it sources all metallurgical-grade silicon from suppliers using quartz mined in North and South America.
CBP has previously said that it had detained about 1,700 shipments worth $516.3 million under UFLPA through September but has never before detailed how many of those shipments contained solar equipment.
The EU has also proposed a ban on products from Xinjiang but has not implemented one.
Reuters
Fri Nov 11 2022
US Customs and Border Protection has seized 1,053 shipments of solar energy equipment between June 21, when the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act went into effect. - REUTERS
Pelajar tahfiz perlu teroka bidang teknologi
Kira-kira 200,000 pelajar tahfiz di negara ini, perlu dipastikan untuk mempunyai kemampuan dan peluang menjadi tenaga penggerak kepada umat Islam Malaysia dalam meneroka bidang yang dahulu dilihat sebagai asing., tegas Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Perpaduan rakyat prasyarat ekonomi mampan
Tidak semua negara Islam mempunyai ruang dan kesempatan untuk terus aman dan damai, dan mempunyai peluang untuk menikmati ekonomi yang kukuh dan berkembang seperti Malaysia, tegas Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Beliau berkata, rakyat Malaysia perlu mempunyai tekad untuk memahami maksud dan keperluan perpaduan di kalangan mereka, serta kekuatan dalaman yang seterusnya dapat dijadikan tonggak untuk negara membuat langkah seterusnya.
Beliau berkata, rakyat Malaysia perlu mempunyai tekad untuk memahami maksud dan keperluan perpaduan di kalangan mereka, serta kekuatan dalaman yang seterusnya dapat dijadikan tonggak untuk negara membuat langkah seterusnya.
Tidak perlu tergesa-gesa tukar ke lesen B - JPJ
Pemegang Lesen Memandu Malaysia (LMM) Kelas B2 dan B1 tidak perlu tergesa-gesa mendaftar Program Khas Peralihan LLM Kelas B2/B1 Kepada LMM Kelas B kerana tiada had masa ditetapkan untuk permohonan.
KPWKM teruskan lapan inisiatif bantu warga emas
Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat (KPWKM) akan terus menggerakkan lapan inisiatif utama dalam memenuhi keperluan jagaan dan sistem sokongan terhadap warga emas.
Warga emas maut ditikam anak kandung yang berhalusinasi
Seorang pesara guru maut ditikam anak kandungnya sendiri di sebuah rumah dekat Kampung Senaling, di sini, petang Sabtu.
Menurut Ketua Polis Daerah Kuala Pilah, Superintendan Amran Mohd Ghani, siasatan awal mendapati warga emas berusia 65 tahun itu cuba memujuk anak lelakinya yang juga pemegang kad orang kurang upaya (OKU) mental yang dikatakan mahu membunuh diri.
Menurut Ketua Polis Daerah Kuala Pilah, Superintendan Amran Mohd Ghani, siasatan awal mendapati warga emas berusia 65 tahun itu cuba memujuk anak lelakinya yang juga pemegang kad orang kurang upaya (OKU) mental yang dikatakan mahu membunuh diri.
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Berikut adalah berita yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Sabtu, 5 Oktober 2024.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Hezbollah lancar serangan peluru berpandu ke atas kompleks industri ketenteraan di utara Israel
Pergerakan Hezbollah di Lubnan berkata mereka telah melancarkan serangan peluru berpandu ke atas kemudahan ATA Defence Industries.
Tiada kaitan dengan pelantikan CEO MDEC, Anuar Fariz bukan adik saya - Fahmi
Menteri Komunikasi Fahmi Fadzil menyangkal dakwaan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif (CEO) baharu Perbadanan Ekonomi Digital Malaysia (MDEC) Anuar Fariz Fadzil merupakan adiknya.
Israel lakukan persiapan untuk serang Iran - Laporan
Tentera Israel sedang bersiap untuk "tindakan balas besar-besaran dan ekstrem" terhadap Iran.
Jumlah pelancong ke padang rumput Nalati di Xinjiang pecah rekod
Seramai 106,700 pelancong mengunjungi padang rumput itu sempena cuti Hari Raya Aidiladha iaitu pada 15 hingga 17 Jun lalu.
6 cedera, 47 rumah musnah akibat gempa bumi skala 7.1 di wilayah Xinjiang, China
Sekurang-kurangnya enam orang cedera selepas rumah mereka runtuh dalam kejadian gempa bumi pada skala 7.1 di Wilayah Autonomi Uyghur Xinjiang.
Gempa kuat 6.8 magnitud gegar sempadan China, Tajikistan
Gempa bumi kuat 6.8 magnitud menggegarkan sempadan wilayah Xinjiang di China dan Tajikistan pada jam 8.37 pagi.
Gempa bumi kuat landa Xinjiang
Menurut Xinhua, pusat gempa dipantau pada 40.01 darjah utara dan 82.29 darjah bujur dengan kedalaman 50 kilometer.
Suhu panas melampau, China keluarkan amaran tahap kuning
Balai cerap negara China pada Sabtu terus mengeluarkan amaran tahap kuning berikutan cuaca panas melampau yang berlarutan di kebanyakan wilayah di negara itu.
Xinjiang kini jadi hab penting buat China - Xi Jinping
Xinjiang yang majoritinya penduduk etnik Uygur kini bukan lagi kawasan terpencil, tetapi merupakan zon dan hab penting.
Xinjiang Police File: Ribuan bukti, gambar tahanan etnik Uyghur didedahkan kepada dunia
Fail itu juga mengandungi gambar lebih daripada 2,800 tahanan dengan 15 daripadanya merupakan kanak-kanak bawah umur.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Isnin, 16 Mei 2022.
'Jalan roti nan' di Turpan jadi tumpuan sempena Aidilfitri
Selepas pengubahsuaian dilaksanakan oleh kerajaan tempatan, tempat tinggal bagi 76 keluarga menjadi laluan komersial yang turut menarik kedatangan ramai pelancong dalam dan luar negara.
21 masih terperangkap dalam banjir lombong arang batu Xinjiang
Sejumlah 12 pelombong yang masih terperangkap berjaya dikesan dan bakal diselamatkan, manakala sembilan pekerja lagi belum ditemukan.