The U.S. is poised to bar some solar products made in China¡¯s Xinjiang region, according to several people familiar with the matter, marking one of the Biden administration¡¯s biggest steps yet to counter alleged human rights abuses against China¡¯s ethnic Uyghur Muslim minority.
Factories in Xinjiang ¡ª where advocacy groups and a panel of United Nations experts say Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities have been subjected to human-rights abuses and forced to work against their will ¡ª produce roughly half of global supply of polysilicon, a material critical for solar panels and semiconductors. China has denied the allegations, saying they¡¯re an attempt to undermine successful businesses.
The move, which is expected to be announced Thursday, has implications for solar¡¯s supply chain and could force U.S. companies to find material elsewhere. It comes after both the Trump and Biden administrations accused China of ¡°genocide¡± in a campaign to erase the culture of the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs.
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