Longi may be latest Chinese solar firm to see products blocked at U.S. border

China’s Longi Green Energy Technology Co. may be the next solar panel maker to have products detained under a U.S. crackdown prompted by allegations of human rights abuses in the Asian nation, according to Roth Capital Partners.

The world’s largest producer of solar modules has been notified that detainments of products at the U.S. border are “imminent,” analysts at the Newport Beach, California-based investment bank said Tuesday in a note to clients. 

Longi would join JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited, Canadian Solar Inc. and Trina Solar Co. on the list of solar manufacturers tied to Hoshine Silicon Industry Co. that have had modules stopped in recent months. Xinjiang-based Hoshine produces metallurgical-grade silicon that is used in the solar panel manufacturing process.

A spokesperson for Xi’an, China-based Longi said the company is currently looking into the report.

Longi fell as much as 9.8% by 2:50 p.m. in Shanghai on Wednesday, the largest intra-day fall since March, while other major solar and polysilicon manufacturers also declined. Trina Solar was down as much as 8.8%, and Xinte Energy slipped as much as 4.5%.

The Biden administration started blocking imports of silica-based products made by Hoshine in June. The U.S. measure was designed to confront alleged human-rights abuses in northwest China’s Xinjiang region, where advocacy groups and a panel of United Nations experts say Uyghurs and other minorities have been forced to work against their will.

Nearly half the world’s supply of polysilicon, a major input material for photovoltaic panels, is produced in Xinjiang. Any detainments are expected to drive up the cost and demand for solar panels in the U.S., according to Roth.