US Customs and Border Protection blocked Maxeon products despite “clear and objective evidence” of a compliant supply chain.
Solar panels shipped from a Mexican factory by manufacturer Maxeon Solar have been blocked from entering the US market by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).
In early September, Maxeon reported that CBP had for the first time detained solar panels imported from its module factories in Ensenada and Mexicali, Mexico. The company explained that US authorities were trying to determine whether the panels comply with the UFLPA.
Maxeon has now done it submitted a request for further investigation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to review the products, which the company believes are fully compliant with U.S. law.
CBP reviewers have claimed that there is insufficient documentation to prove Maxeon’s compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).
“Despite fully and transparently mapping supply chains and providing U.S. Customs and Border Protection…, CBP reviewers allege there is insufficient documentation to prove Maxeon’s compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which the company vehemently refutes it after clear and objective evidence to the contrary,” said Maxeon.
Maxeon CEO Bill Mulligan said the company’s core values are “diametrically opposed” to the use of forced labor in the production of its products. The UFLPA bans any products whose supply chain originates from China’s Xinjiang province, a western province that is alleged to use forced labor in the solar energy supply chain.
“CBP found no evidence of non-compliance with the UFLPA,” Mulligan said. “Nonetheless, the CBP Electronics Center of Excellence and Expertise Partnership process has decided to prohibit the entry of our products…None of our supply chains involve UFLPA-listed entities, two of our supply chains do not even enter China , and yet the reviewers have declined to make the appropriate determination that UFLPA does not apply…”
In July 2024, three different Maxeon products manufactured in Mexico were apprehended. Since then, all shipments have been excluded. This is despite Maxeon’s claims that it has determined that the supply chains for every component, from quartz to module, fall outside the scope of the UFLPA.
Following the July 2024 foreclosure, the publicly traded company withdrew its 2024 revenue forecasts, citing uncertainty in its largest market.
“Maxeon has now moved the review of its Maxeon 3 and Maxeon 6 products to the next level of review, the so-called Application for Further Review (AFR) process, and will file a protest for its Performance line products,” said Mulligan. “These processes will involve a new team of CBP reviewers, who we hope can provide an objective application of the UFPLA. We remain optimistic that this new team will be able to quickly reach the right conclusion and prepare our products for import.”
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