In one of the final actions taken by the Biden administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced earlier this month that it was adding an additional 37 China companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List. One of the entities added is Chinese solar giant JA Solar, an action CPA called for more than two years ago.
In the announcement, DHS said it has reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable information, that JA Solar sources polysilicon from Xinjiang, a western China province that is home to the Uyghur minority group. JA Solar is a member of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)—a solar importers lobby deeply connected to Chinese companies—that has been a consistent advocate for policies to benefit China solar imports.
Last year, Horizon Advisory released a report detailing how SEIA has been consistently undermining U.S. manufacturers, while advancing policies that benefit Chinese solar multinationals.
Four of SEIA’s Chinese solar members were named in an explosive academic report that was released by the Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region detailing the widespread use of Uyghur forced labor within the solar industry. The report found that the four largest solar panel suppliers in the world—JinkoSolar, JA Solar, Trina Solar and LONGi—all source from at least one polysilicon manufacturer that is implicated in Uyghur forced labor either through direct participation in forced labor schemes, and/or through their raw material sourcing.
As The Guardian recently highlighted, SEIA “deployed a “multimillion-dollar lobbying and public relations campaign to keep the cheap Chinese imports coming.” SEIA’s lobbying led to the imposition of a solar tariff moratorium that allowed Chinese firms to circumvent U.S. trade laws, further entrenching their dominance in the market.
Additionally, a 2022 report by The American Prospectexposed SEIA as the key advocacy organization for Chinese solar manufacturers.
SEIA’s membership includes U.S. subsidiaries of Chinese producers JinkoSolar, JA Solar, Trina Solar, BYD, and LONGi Solar, which are the dominant solar component manufacturers in the world” and “at no time do they disclose that among its leading members are the same Chinese-owned companies that are implicated not only in the investigation of illegal tariff evasion, but in the use of slave labor to produce solar components and coal-fired energy to power the factories.
DHS’s action directly targets the forced labor practices deeply embedded in China’s solar supply chain. This move addresses one aspect of the solar issue, but much more needs to be done to ensure U.S. taxpayer funds are not subsidizing Chinese solar companies engaging in unfair trade practices – be it dumping or using forced labor to manufacture key components along the solar supply chain.
A System Exploiting U.S. Incentives
JA Solar, now on the UFLPA Entity List, has been found to source polysilicon from Xinjiang, where forced labor is widespread. JA Solar, meanwhile, is a beneficiary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits with new investments going up in Arizona thanks to those IRA incentives. By setting up solar panel assembly plants in the United States while keeping major pieces of their supply chain operations in China, these companies undermine domestic manufacturing and assure their dominant position in solar here in the U.S.
CPA has repeatedly warned of this exploitation, as detailed in a recent Compact Magazineop-ed by CPA Senior Vice President for Public Affairs & Communications, Nick Iacovella. The Biden administration’s failure to address critical loopholes in the IRA allows Chinese companies to benefit from U.S. subsidies originally intended to strengthen American manufacturing.
“Under the current framework, U.S. taxpayers are essentially funding the expansion of Chinese companies that exploit forced labor and threaten America’s clean energy future,” Iacovella wrote. “Congress and the incoming Trump administration must act decisively to close these loopholes and prioritize U.S. solar production.”
Policy Recommendations to Secure the U.S. Solar Industry
Last week, CPA released a new industry report titled “The U.S. Solar Supply Chain 2025: Building a Strong and Resilient American Solar Industry.” The report highlights the critical state of the U.S. domestic solar manufacturing industry and lays out actionable policy recommendations to secure America’s abundant energy future through a diversified energy portfolio that includes a robust advanced solar manufacturing technology supply chain, while reducing dependence on Chinese imports.
Despite the IRA, the U.S. solar supply chain is threatened by Chinese overproduction, price manipulation, and circumvention of trade laws. Heavily subsidized Chinese firms control over 80% of the global solar supply chain.
Additionally, China’s state-subsidized solar industry is also weaponizing billions of dollars in tax credits provided by the IRA. The New York Times quoted from CPA’s economic analysis stating how Chinese solar companies here “could earn up to $125 billion in tax credits under the IRA.” This “double subsidy” – money from Beijing and money from Washington – threatens to derail efforts to establish a deep, independent domestic solar supply chain.
“Despite the passage of the IRA, Chinese overproduction across the entire solar manufacturing supply chain has depressed global and US prices, driving many innovative U.S.-owned solar manufacturers to the brink of bankruptcy, caused financial losses even among China’s giant solar panel producers, and stimulated a flood of imports to the U.S. from facilities in Southeast Asia closely linked to the industry giants in China,” said Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist Emeritus. “China’s domination of the global solar industry is no accident—it is a result of deliberate and massive state subsidies, overproduction, and predatory trade practices.”
CPA’s new solar report makes the following key policy recommendations:
Exclude Foreign Entities of Concern (FEOCs): Prohibit FEOCs from being eligible for IRA tax credits and incentives.
Strengthen Domestic Content Rules: Increase domestic manufacturing requirements for tax credit eligibility to ensure substantial U.S. production of solar panels, cells, and components.
Global, Universal Tariffs: Impose universal tariffs and robustly enforce them on Chinese solar products to advance the policy goal of a robust, domestic manufacturing industry.
Tighten UFLPA Enforcement: Aggressively enforce the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) to prevent products tainted by forced labor from entering U.S. markets and account for China’s efforts to workaround the legislation.
CPA supports bipartisan legislation introduced last Congress by former Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and Rick Scott (R-FL) that would prevent Chinese companies from receiving IRA 45X tax credits. CPA also supports similar legislation introduced by former U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and U.S. Representative Carol Miller (R-WV-1).
America’s energy future depends on a resilient and robust domestic solar supply chain. By closing loopholes, enforcing trade laws, and investing in American energy production, policymakers can ensure that the U.S. leads the world in low cost energy while safeguarding national security and reshoring more pieces of the solar supply chain.
MADE IN AMERICA.
CPA is the leading national, bipartisan organization exclusively representing domestic producers and workers across many industries and sectors of the U.S. economy.
Chinese Solar Giant JA Solar Added to UFLPA Entity List
In one of the final actions taken by the Biden administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced earlier this month that it was adding an additional 37 China companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List. One of the entities added is Chinese solar giant JA Solar, an action CPA called for more than two years ago.
In the announcement, DHS said it has reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable information, that JA Solar sources polysilicon from Xinjiang, a western China province that is home to the Uyghur minority group. JA Solar is a member of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)—a solar importers lobby deeply connected to Chinese companies—that has been a consistent advocate for policies to benefit China solar imports.
Last year, Horizon Advisory released a report detailing how SEIA has been consistently undermining U.S. manufacturers, while advancing policies that benefit Chinese solar multinationals.
Four of SEIA’s Chinese solar members were named in an explosive academic report that was released by the Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region detailing the widespread use of Uyghur forced labor within the solar industry. The report found that the four largest solar panel suppliers in the world—JinkoSolar, JA Solar, Trina Solar and LONGi—all source from at least one polysilicon manufacturer that is implicated in Uyghur forced labor either through direct participation in forced labor schemes, and/or through their raw material sourcing.
As The Guardian recently highlighted, SEIA “deployed a “multimillion-dollar lobbying and public relations campaign to keep the cheap Chinese imports coming.” SEIA’s lobbying led to the imposition of a solar tariff moratorium that allowed Chinese firms to circumvent U.S. trade laws, further entrenching their dominance in the market.
Additionally, a 2022 report by The American Prospect exposed SEIA as the key advocacy organization for Chinese solar manufacturers.
DHS’s action directly targets the forced labor practices deeply embedded in China’s solar supply chain. This move addresses one aspect of the solar issue, but much more needs to be done to ensure U.S. taxpayer funds are not subsidizing Chinese solar companies engaging in unfair trade practices – be it dumping or using forced labor to manufacture key components along the solar supply chain.
A System Exploiting U.S. Incentives
JA Solar, now on the UFLPA Entity List, has been found to source polysilicon from Xinjiang, where forced labor is widespread. JA Solar, meanwhile, is a beneficiary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits with new investments going up in Arizona thanks to those IRA incentives. By setting up solar panel assembly plants in the United States while keeping major pieces of their supply chain operations in China, these companies undermine domestic manufacturing and assure their dominant position in solar here in the U.S.
CPA has repeatedly warned of this exploitation, as detailed in a recent Compact Magazine op-ed by CPA Senior Vice President for Public Affairs & Communications, Nick Iacovella. The Biden administration’s failure to address critical loopholes in the IRA allows Chinese companies to benefit from U.S. subsidies originally intended to strengthen American manufacturing.
“Under the current framework, U.S. taxpayers are essentially funding the expansion of Chinese companies that exploit forced labor and threaten America’s clean energy future,” Iacovella wrote. “Congress and the incoming Trump administration must act decisively to close these loopholes and prioritize U.S. solar production.”
Policy Recommendations to Secure the U.S. Solar Industry
Last week, CPA released a new industry report titled “The U.S. Solar Supply Chain 2025: Building a Strong and Resilient American Solar Industry.” The report highlights the critical state of the U.S. domestic solar manufacturing industry and lays out actionable policy recommendations to secure America’s abundant energy future through a diversified energy portfolio that includes a robust advanced solar manufacturing technology supply chain, while reducing dependence on Chinese imports.
Despite the IRA, the U.S. solar supply chain is threatened by Chinese overproduction, price manipulation, and circumvention of trade laws. Heavily subsidized Chinese firms control over 80% of the global solar supply chain.
Additionally, China’s state-subsidized solar industry is also weaponizing billions of dollars in tax credits provided by the IRA. The New York Times quoted from CPA’s economic analysis stating how Chinese solar companies here “could earn up to $125 billion in tax credits under the IRA.” This “double subsidy” – money from Beijing and money from Washington – threatens to derail efforts to establish a deep, independent domestic solar supply chain.
“Despite the passage of the IRA, Chinese overproduction across the entire solar manufacturing supply chain has depressed global and US prices, driving many innovative U.S.-owned solar manufacturers to the brink of bankruptcy, caused financial losses even among China’s giant solar panel producers, and stimulated a flood of imports to the U.S. from facilities in Southeast Asia closely linked to the industry giants in China,” said Jeff Ferry, CPA Chief Economist Emeritus. “China’s domination of the global solar industry is no accident—it is a result of deliberate and massive state subsidies, overproduction, and predatory trade practices.”
CPA’s new solar report makes the following key policy recommendations:
CPA supports bipartisan legislation introduced last Congress by former Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and Rick Scott (R-FL) that would prevent Chinese companies from receiving IRA 45X tax credits. CPA also supports similar legislation introduced by former U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and U.S. Representative Carol Miller (R-WV-1).
America’s energy future depends on a resilient and robust domestic solar supply chain. By closing loopholes, enforcing trade laws, and investing in American energy production, policymakers can ensure that the U.S. leads the world in low cost energy while safeguarding national security and reshoring more pieces of the solar supply chain.
MADE IN AMERICA.
CPA is the leading national, bipartisan organization exclusively representing domestic producers and workers across many industries and sectors of the U.S. economy.
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