The US government, led by President Joe Biden, has banned the import of photovoltaic products from one entity and four solar energy manufacturers in China's Xinjiang province. According to information from the Reuters Agency, the US government accuses the companies of practicing human rights violations, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor and high-tech surveillance against Uighurs and Kazakhs.
The ban imposed involves Hoshine Silicon Industry Co, the largest polysilicon manufacturer in the Asian country, and three other polysilicon manufacturers: Daqo; East Hope and GCL New Energy Material Co. The ban also includes the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, which is involved in agricultural, industrial, transportation, construction and commercial operations and carries out economic construction tasks in the Chinese province.
Market reaction
The North American government's decision yielded an instant reaction from international market analysts. This was the case with John Smirnow, general counsel and vice president of market strategy at the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), who issued a statement saying the news was not unexpected.
“We fully support the Biden administration's efforts to address any forced labor in the solar energy supply chain (…) The fact is that we lack transparency in supply chains in the Xinjiang region and there is a lot of risk in operating there. For this reason, in October we began calling on solar companies to leave the region,” he wrote.
What do companies say?
Reuters reported that Hoshine Silicon Industry said on an investor platform that the company does not export industrial silicon directly to the United States and that the impact on its business would be limited.
Xinjiang Daqo New Energy Co. sent an email to the news agency saying the company does not tolerate forced labor and does not sell or buy products from the United States, and that it will not see any impact on its business as a result. Reuters noted that the other companies did not respond or could not be immediately reached by the agency.
