(Bloomberg) — China’s Longi Green Energy Technology Co., the world’s largest solar-panel maker, is the latest in the industry to have shipments detained by U.S. customs as part of a crackdown by Washington over alleged human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region.
Longi had 40.31 megawatts of modules detained from Oct. 28 through Nov. 3, representing 1.6% of its annual exports to the U.S., the company said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Longi said it established a product tracing mechanism last year, and is able to prove that the detained modules used silicon material that meets U.S. government requirements. The detention has no major impact on Longi’s current operations, according to the statement.
“There is not a grain of truth in the absurd allegation that there is forced labor in Xinjiang,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Thursday at a regular press conference in Beijing. The U.S. action “will also disrupt international industrial and supply chains and undercut global efforts to deal with climate change.”
Longi joins JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited, Canadian Solar Inc. and Trina Solar Co. on the list of solar manufacturers tied to Hoshine Silicon Industry Co. that have had modules stopped in recent months. Xinjiang-based Hoshine produces metallurgical-grade silicon that is used in the solar panel manufacturing process.
Also See: Top Solar Firm Longi May Be Next China Target in U.S. Ban
Longi’s shares advanced 1.7% Thursday in Shanghai, rebounding after declining as much as 9.8% Wednesday.
The Biden administration started blocking imports of silica-based products made by Hoshine in June. The U.S. measure was designed to confront alleged human-rights abuses in northwest China’s Xinjiang region, where advocacy groups and a panel of United Nations experts say Uyghurs and other minorities have been forced to work against their will.
Nearly half the world’s supply of polysilicon, a major input material for photovoltaic panels, is produced in Xinjiang. Any detainments are expected to drive up the cost and demand for solar panels in the U.S., Roth Capital Partners said Tuesday in a note to clients.
(Updates with foreign ministry comment in third paragraph.)
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