Forced labour: US bans imports of solar panel material from Chinese company

The US has ordered ban on imports of solar panel material from China based Hoshine Silicon Industry because of forced labour allegations.

US Commerce Department separately restricted exports to Hoshine, three other Chinese companies and the paramilitary Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), saying they were involved with the forced labor of Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang.

China's foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that China will take "all necessary measures" to protect Chinese companies' rights and interests. China has dismissed accusations of genocide and forced labour in Xinjiang as lies.

Three other companies in the US blacklist include Xinjiang Daqo New Energy Co, a unit of Daqo New Energy Corp; Xinjiang East Hope Nonferrous Metals Co, a subsidiary of Shanghai-based manufacturing giant East Hope Group; and Xinjiang GCL New Energy Material Co, part of GCL New Energy Holdings Ltd.

US Commerce Department said the companies and a paramilitary force, XPCC, "have been implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor and high-technology surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups in" Xinjiang.

At least some of the companies listed by the Commerce Department are major manufacturers of monocrystalline silicon and polysilicon that are used in solar panel production.

Hoshine Silicon Industry said on an interactive investor platform that it backed the Chinese foreign ministry's reaction, adding that the firm does not export industrial silicon to the United States directly and the impact on its business would be limited.

Xinjiang Daqo New Energy Co responded Reuters' request for comment with an email saying the company has "zero tolerance" towards forced labour, and that it does not sell directly to U.S. companies, or purchase from the United States and there would not be "a significant impact on the company’s business."

The other companies or their parent firms did not immediately respond to requests for comment, or could not immediately be reached. XPCC could not immediately be reached for comment.

The "Withhold Release Order" by U.S. Customs and Border Protection only blocks imports of the material from Hoshine. A source familiar with the order said it does not impact the majority of U.S. imports of polysilicon and other silica-based products.

Dennis Ip, Regional Head of Power, Utilities, Renewables & Environment (PURE) Research at Daiwa said in a note to clients the immediate effect of the restrictions would be limited as the companies named do not have "vast contracts" with U.S. based wafer companies, but foresaw more action to come.

"However, we see possibility for the ban to gradually extend to include restrictions on all solar modules which contain Xinjiang-produced polysilicon," he said.

Chinese module producers could still use polysilicon from Inner Mongolia and Yunnan for their U.S.-bound module shipments, he added.

(With inputs from agencies)