US bans target Chinese solar panel industry over Xinjiang forced labor concerns

Commerce secretary says US is making good on G7 pledge to clean up global supply chains

The Biden administration imposed trade bans on five Chinese entities over forced labor allegations in Xinjiang, the White House said on Thursday, citing the G7's recent pledge to clean up the global supply chain.

It banned US imports of a key solar panel material from Chinese-based Hoshine Silicon Industry Co and separately restricted exports of commodities, software, and technology" to Hoshine, three other Chinese firms and the paramilitary Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), saying they were involved with the forced labor of Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in the Chinese province.