The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has detained nearly $43 million worth of electronics shipments from India since October 2022, citing concerns under the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA). The detentions represent a notable shift in the agency’s focus, which previously centred primarily on Chinese-made goods, as per a report by Reuters.
Although CBP has not explicitly identified the specific types of electronics equipment detained, industry sources indicate that solar panels, particularly those containing polysilicon, are likely among the targeted shipments. Polysilicon, a key material in solar panels, has been flagged as a high-priority sector under the UFLPA, which bans imports of goods produced in China’s Xinjiang region due to allegations of forced labour involving ethnic Uygurs and other Muslim groups. China has consistently denied these allegations.
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Prior to 2022, no Indian electronics shipments were detained under the UFLPA. However, the recent detentions have sparked concern among Indian manufacturers, who are positioning themselves as viable alternatives to Chinese suppliers for US solar project developers. According to CBP data, nearly one-third of the detained Indian shipments were denied entry, a stark contrast to the 5.4 percent denial rate for shipments from leading solar component suppliers in Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand.
The detentions, though representing a small fraction of the $3 billion in electronics shipments stopped under the UFLPA over the past two years, are a setback for India’s solar industry. Imports of solar products from India have surged in recent years, reaching $2.3 billion in 2023. In the second quarter of 2024, India accounted for 11 percent of U.S. solar panel imports, more than doubling its share from the previous quarter, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. This marks a significant rise from 2018, when the U.S. did not import any solar panels from India.
