RFA February 14, 2023

Vietnamese businesses that use materials allegedly made by forced laborers in Xinjiang (China), may face sanctions from the US when US Trade Representative Katherine Tai visits Vietnam this week.

Reuters news agency on February 14 reported that the US Embassy in Vietnam has not yet said whether this issue is on the list of discussions between the US Trade Representative and the Vietnamese Government.

Last June, the US Uyghur Forced Labor Act went into effect. As the result, more than 1,500 shipments of export goods to the US worth about 500 million dollars have to be stopped, according to statistics of US Customs.

According to Reuters, Vietnam’s solar panels are currently at particular risk in the US market because of their heavy reliance on polycrystalline silicon materials, which are produced mainly in Xinjiang. Vietnam and a number of other Southeast Asian countries currently supply about 80% of solar panels in the US, worth about $3.4 billion in 2020.

Mr. Kheng Joo Ung – CEO of First Solar Inc., one of the leading exporters of solar panels to the US, told Reuters that the company does not use polycrystalline silicon materials but the other companies in Vietnam have used this material. However, he did not give the specific names of these companies.

In addition to First Solar, the leading solar panel manufacturers in Vietnam are mainly Chinese companies, according to information from investment consulting firm Dezan Shira.

In addition, Chinese companies supplying materials and other services in areas such as plastic molds and die casting are also planning to invest in Vietnam to supply solar panel manufacturers in Vietnam, cited by two unnamed experts according to Reuters.

There is still no officially published evidence of Vietnamese companies using polycrystalline silicon materials.

The Vietnamese government has not yet commented to Reuters on this information