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Solar Shipments Blocked: Forced Labor Law Hits Industry Hard
25 Feb
Summary
- Solar panels dominate goods blocked under forced labor law.
- Stopped shipments total $3.26 billion, 82% of all blocked value.
- Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand are top sources of halted solar shipments.
New data reveals that solar panels constitute the vast majority of goods detained at the U.S. border under a 2021 law targeting products made with Chinese forced labor. This Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) has significantly impacted the solar industry, leading to project delays and worker furloughs.
Shipments identified with a code for semiconductor devices, which includes solar panels and cells, account for $3.26 billion in blocked value. This figure represents 82% of the total $3.94 billion in shipments halted since the law's implementation. Most of these detained solar shipments originated from Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand.
Despite the significant value of detained goods, over 79% of the halted solar and semiconductor shipments, amounting to approximately $2.5 billion, have since been released to U.S. importers. Enforcement of the UFLPA has seen a decrease since the previous year, though targeted goods have expanded to include materials like steel and copper.
