"Indian Solar Panels Held by US Likely Tied to China Forced Labour", 29th August, 2024

The US customs agency has, since October, held $43 million worth of shipments of Indian electronics equipment under a law banning entry of goods made with Uyghur forced labour in China, data shows.

The US Customs and Border Protection did not specify what types of electronic equipment it was holding, but the law they are held under identifies a raw material in solar panels — polysilicon — as a high-priority sector...

...The detention of Indian solar panels represents a new focus for the CBP, given the agency has largely focused on Chinese suppliers so far...

“If the solar cells for Indian panels are coming from China, then there is likely a good reason why detentions of Indian products may be increasing,” Tim Brightbill, a trade attorney with Wiley Rein LLP, said. “My sense is that Customs and Border Protection did not realise for a while that many Indian solar panels contained Chinese solar cells, and therefore the UFLPA risks were (and are) high.”

...Waaree Technologies and Adani Enterprises are the top Indian solar suppliers to the US market.

A spokesperson for Adani confirmed that some of its shipments had been detained and that all had been released...

...Waaree did not respond to requests for comment.