July 5, 2021– In the latest move to identify and prohibit products produced by “state-sponsored forced labor,” the U.S. government banned imports of a material made in Xinjiang, China. The product, polysilicon, is a key component in the supply chain of solar panels.
As a result of the ban, U.S. Customs officials must intercept imports of the product at U.S. ports. The decision is likely to have an impact not only on consumer and manufacture prices but also on foreign relations between the two countries.
‘Modern-Day Slavery’
Alejandro N. Mayorkas, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, announced the order against Hoshine Silicon Industry in late June. The decision followed discussions among leaders from G7 countries about the use of forced labor global supply chains. It also comes on the heels of an investigation by the Customs and Border Protection that said Hoshine used “intimidation, threats, and restriction of movement” in its production process.
“As President Biden made clear at the recent G7 summit, the United States will not tolerate modern-day slavery in our supply chains,” Mayorkas said, in a press release. “This Withhold Release Order demonstrates we continue to protect human rights and international labor standards and promote human rights and international labor standards and promote a more fair and competitive global marketplace by fulfilling the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to ending forced labor.”
‘Systematic Abuses’
“Forced labor is a human rights abuse that hurts vulnerable workers, weakens the global economy, and exposes consumers to unethically made merchandise.”, said Troy Miller, a senior official at Customs and Border Protection.
The Biden Administration, meanwhile, commented further. According to a White House fact sheet, “The systematic abuses go beyond forced labor to include sexual violence and large-scale forced detentions, and the PRC continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.”
Impact on Prices, Climate Change Goals
The ban on solar-related parts might result in higher prices for manufacturers and consumers. It also impacts President Biden’s goal of expanding the use of clean energy to achieve climate goals.
Industry Rep Welcomes the Decision
U.S.-based industry representatives, meanwhile, welcomed the decision. The Solar Energy Industries Association issued a release lending support for move to disengage supply chains from forced-labor.
“The fact is, we do not have transparency into supply chains in the Xinjiang region, and there is too much risk in operating there,” said John Smirnow, general counsel and vice president at the association. For that reason, in October, we began calling on solar companies to leave the region and we provided them a traceability protocol to help ensure there is not forced labor in the supply chain.
List of Banned of Products Grows
Additionally, the U.S. Commerce Department announced in a press release the addition of five Chinese entities, including Hoshine Silicon Industry, to a trade blacklist. This blacklist prohibits the exporting of goods and technology by American companies to these named entities. Other companies added recently added include Xinjiang Daqo New Energy; Xinjiang East Hope Nonferrous Metals; Xinjiang GCL New Energy Material Technology, and XPCC. The entity list effectively “restricts the export, reexport, or in-country transfer of commodities, software, and technology subject,” according to a Biden administration explanation.
The Commerce Department previously banned 28 entities in China for “acting contrary to the foreign policy interests of the United States.”
China: ‘Conspiracy to Contain China’
China flatly denied the accusations. On June 25, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian said the United States “uses lies as a tool and resorts to its hegemony to suppress Xinjiang’s industrial development by all means with human rights as a cover.” He went on to say the actions would be detrimental to “Xinjiang people’s rights to subsistence and development” and that China might respond using “all necessary measures.”
According to reporting by The New York Times, Xinjiang producers of polysilicon deny all forced labor allegations. On its website, Hoshine Silcon Industry says its employing concept for management is: “People oriented, morality first.”
For more information on this action, see the June 24 statement from the White House.
Additional reporting on this story by Patti Mohr
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021 Patti Mohr