Civic Register
| 11.2.21
Should the U.S. Ban All Solar Panels Made in China With Forced Labor From Uyghur Muslims?
Do you support or oppose banning solar panels made in China with forced labor from Uyghurs?
What’s the story?
- Congress is weighing legislation that would ban solar panels made with forced labor in Xinjiang, China, by Uyghur Muslim minorities who have faced persecution and genocide at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. That legislation has put the Biden administration in a bind as it attempts to reconcile its climate goals and China’s hold over the solar panel supply chain with commitments to support human rights.
- Earlier this year, the Commerce Dept. announced that it would ban imports of solar panels and related materials from several Chinese companies linked to forced labor in Xinjiang, including the Hoshine Silicon Industry Co. Ltd. and its subsidiaries, which reportedly intimidated, threatened, and restricted the movement of its Uyghur workers. Customs and Border Protection announced that it began detaining such shipments in June.
- Members of Congress have signaled a willingness to go further on the matter. The Senate unanimously passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in July. If enacted, the bill would sanction companies and individuals involved with the use of forced labor in Xinjiang under authorities created by the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020, which became law last year. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act would also bar the importation of goods presumed to have been made with forced labor in Xinjiang or by entities affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party.
- President Joe Biden said in October that he has been taking “concrete steps to put human rights back at the center of our foreign policy.” However, the Biden administration is reportedly concerned that the enactment of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act would ban all of the polysilicon ― the material inside most solar panels ― that comes from Xinjiang, which could make it more difficult to meet climate goals. The bill has been stalled in the House since it passed the Senate unanimously over three months ago.
- China controls a significant share of the solar panel market with many suppliers sourcing materials from Hoshine, so blocking more imports over forced labor ties could continue to increase costs, making solar energy less financially viable until the supply chain eventually stabilizes. The Washington Post reported that a key deputy of Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry has told lawmakers the U.S. will need five to 10 years to move the global supply chain for solar panels away from Xinjiang and needs flexibility in the transition.
- Biden administration National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was asked by RealClearPolitics’ Phil Wegmann about a statement by Chinese officials that there is a contradiction between the U.S. urging China to reduce emissions while also sanctioning their solar panel companies over forced labor concerns, and Sullivan responded:
“The president strongly believes that we can both take a strong stand against forced labor and against slave labor anywhere it occurs, including in Xinjiang, and at the same time cultivate and develop a robust and effective solar power supply chain. There is no reason that the U.S. or any other country should be forced to choose between these two issues.”
— Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Uyghur Concentration Camp: Radio Free Asia / Fair Use | iStock.com / Smitt)
The Latest
-
The Long Arc: Taking Action in Times of Change“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.” Martin Luther King Jr. Today in read more... Advocacy -
Thousands Displaced as Climate Change Fuels Wildfire Catastrophe in Los AngelesIt's been a week of unprecedented destruction in Los Angeles. So far the Palisades, Eaton and other fires have burned 35,000 read more... Environment -
Puberty, Privacy, and PolicyOn December 11, the Montana Supreme Court temporarily blocked SB99 , a law that sought to ban gender-affirming care for read more... LGBTQIA+ -
Women Are Shaping This Election — Why Is the Media Missing It?As we reflect on the media coverage of this election season, it’s clear that mainstream outlets have zeroed in on the usual read more... Elections
Climate & Consumption
Health & Hunger
Politics & Policy
Safety & Security
With how problematic, cruel, and dishonest Chania already is, we should do everything we can to distance ourselves from them.
I oppose importing and using any products made with slave Uyghur labor in china. No ifs ands or buts.
Only when an alternate source, able to meet the increased demand has been obtained. We don’t need another fiasco like the one with oil.
We need to start banning things made in China.
Ban all garbage made in china
We need to start production in the United States if only half of us would pull their head out and believe that we have an issue with global warming fires flooding ice caps melting I’m not sure what it’s going to have to take? So frustrating!! Democrats need to get it together.
Finally something at least 88% of us can agree on: forced labor/slavery is bad. Let's continue our failed war on drugs to increase prison populations so the US can compete with China on (forced) labor rates. That way we can make our own solar panels with our own slaves, I mean prisoners.
Let’s ban all solar panels - they are stealing energy that would otherwise be given to Mother Earth 🌏
#bestchinatakesever
First, I'd rather see the solar panels made in the USA, as we need to buy less from China. In addition, we do not want solar panels made by Slaves, and that's what the Uyghur Muslims are in China. We already depend on China for too many products! We need to bring manufacturing back into the U.S. COVID has shown us how badly our supply chain is dependent on other countries, and now our shelves have fewer items to buy.
Why can we not make it here in America instead of relying on other countries to do it for us, it’s one of the reasons we are haven’t the supply issues today
Solar, Wind, "Green " energy are a fantasy. None of them are reliable, as We Texans found out last winter. Congress must force Communist "P" Biden to return America to Energy Independence. anything else is Anti-American. Do not be the Congress that allows the ruin of Our Exceptional Nation. There will never been aqnother
We need solar panels, but we also need to punish the use of slave or extorted labor.
Ban everything made there.Start making it here.
We should be more focused on getting our house in order. If we want to produce quality solar panels here, we must get started now. It will take time to get production yields up to needed levels to assure that we can produce quality solar panels that are durable and effective over many years of service and exposed to weather extremes. The panels coming out of Japan and South Korea are life-time labor and parts warranteed for 25 years of service. Many of these panels leverage their manufacturing experience developed over many years to produce precision large screen TV electronics. … … … The Japanese and South Korean expertise took many years to develop and very little of this exists in our country. It can, but it will take a concerted effort, some trial and error and new engineering tools. Our country is quite good at developing new engineering and scientific methods but, in general, not so good at carrying these ideas into mass production. There are surely exceptions to this general conclusion, and we need to understand the why and how of these. … … … The Climate Crisis cannot successfully be thwarted without the full cooperation of the world of nations, all of the major economies of the world, friends and foes alike, working toward the common goal of preserving human life on this planet as we have come to know it. … … … We and the rest of the planet will need st least some of the manufacturing capability that China has developed. We should be be free to compete to gain market share with better products but will have to get beyond our county’s crony-capitalism, where companies find better ROI in buying political favor than they can get by investing in developing better products and services. … … … We must start all of this now. … … … I heard yesterday that we have our first great grandkid on the way. We are thrilled about this milestone in our lives and also terrified about the world that we may be leaving behind for him or her.
Let's be brutally honest. It seems here in the USA seem to want to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses in China and other places and only have a heart to condemn anything and everything about America. We MUST rebuild America, by returning American ingenuity, hard work, and complete Freedom which is thwarted by BIG Government. Our government needs to get out of our bedrooms, our bathrooms, and personal lives! They need to return to their duty of protecting every citizen from our enemies both foreign and domestic. Our government needs to scale back dramatically and let the American people who do all the working, building, buying, selling, living and dying, do what we do. They need to stop focusing on putting us in groups and dividing us, so they can rob us blind by taxes us without proper representation! They spend trillions and we literally have nothing to show for it except a ultra rich ruling class while we all get poorer and poorer with every decision they make that ONLY benefits themselves and their crony friends. Hardly any of them are actually working for us, and those are so few they never get anywhere. Should we support China? Hell No! they are our enemy and they are horrible abusers of human rights and the planet. They will never change unless we stop giving them our jobs, our money and stop letting them buy up our land. The US Government needs to get of bed with China and start working for the people before they force a new revolution.
Is there any real argument for supporting forced labor? There are plenty of other solar panel suppliers, even if they cost a fraction more. Unfortunately money talks loudly compared to the lives and needs of those who mine for and manufacture our rare earth metal products. Also cobalt for batteries falls squarely into this arena. Banning something that is obviously morally wrong should be our default.
@Glowurm made some good points: 1. China has provided long term financing to America. 2. China has a powerful military. Due to 1 and 2 and some of what I've addressed in previous posts, America's official responses must be well considered and measured. We as citizens can and should question those responses if for no other reason to attempt to limit pressures placed on all politicians. 3. As for the argument about bringing jobs back to America; it is likely that ship has sailed. However, and, perhaps more importantly, many of those jobs were factory jobs. While the 1936 movie has been long forgotten, the image of factory jobs from Chaplin's "Modern Times"* persists. While some might accept that kind of work, who really wants to become nothing but a human machine? Who want to do that kind of work? It's relative for sure. But say to bring those jobs back is kind of demeaning, econmically disruptive, and unfair to foreign workers who are now doing those jobs. The politics of it will be insane. 4. Instead of bringing back factory jobs America should use the creative engineering and managerial talents it does have to create new kinds of industries, businesses and jobs. There are many thinkers & writers who have addressed how to do this in depth, avoiding the Classic late 18th century sweat shop factory model. 5. America could have taken bigger steps with the full Infrastructure Bill and full implementation of Build Back Better. But too many of our fellow citizens are too zoned out to advocate anything meaningful. More importantly powerful, monied interests oppose such measures as they will lose profit, and, of course, the Consevative Echo Chamber messages for them accordingly. * Modern Times - Synopsis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Times_(film)?wprov=sfti1 Classic Factory Scene: https://youtu.be/6n9ESFJTnHs Full movie: Modern Times (1936) https://youtu.be/2gLa4wAia9g Read @Glowurm's full post: https://www.causes.com/comments/1506695
More than ever, we need some Mind Expanding, or why some PhDs advocated taking drugs even though it was a bad idea. @jimK raises some interesting issues. Those issues, in turn, raise other issues. I have not come to full grips with any of it. Given that you first need to ask a lot of questions before discovering the right questions, here're are a couple of sets of questions: 1. If China, South Korea, and Japan already make great Solar Panels efficiently, does the USA _need_ to gear up to produce panels as well? To what end? Who does that serve? Can we develop partnerships to build factories on American soil? Does that make sense? 2. Is the US really quite good at developing new engineering and applied science methods but not good at carrying these ideas into mass production? In other words, does America have a special corner on Engineers and Designers and the university programs to develop these professionals, or does America have incompetent managers and MBA programs? I think the answer is No to the first part and also No to the second part. See No. 4 below. 3. Some things are bound to be at cross purposes, like Chinese Governmental policies vs its production capacity. How do we deal with the ethical dilemma this presents without creating much bigger problems? 4. We need to get beyond our county’s crony-capitalism, where companies find better ROI in buying political favor than they can get by investing in developing better products and services. Agreed. How do we do that? See @jimK's post: https://www.causes.com/comments/1506678
Ban anything from China