(Yicai Global) Nov. 4 -- A consignment of solar panels en route to the US was detained by US authorities on Oct. 28, Longi Green Energy Technology said yesterday as the world’s biggest solar company looks set to become the latest target in an escalating trade spat between China and the US.

Some 40.31 megawatts of photovoltaic panels have been seized, the Xi’an, central Shaanxi province-based firm said. However, US shipments are still on track, it added, but did not say whether more hold ups are likely.

“China’s Longi may be the next solar panel maker to have products detained under a US crackdown prompted by allegations of human rights abuses in the Asian nation,” Bloomberg Quint reported on Nov. 2, citing US investment bank Roth Capital Partners. Longi “has been notified that detainment of products at the US border are ‘imminent,’” it added.

Longi sells its products worldwide and does not rely heavily on the US market, the company said. The goods detained amount to 1.6 percent of total exports to the North American country last year, and it continues to deliver to the US market as normal, it added. US exports accounted for 16 percent of the firm’s revenue in 2020 at CNY8.8 billion (USD1.4 billion).

The US started to block made-in-China solar module imports in June over concerns that the raw materials they use are being produced with forced labor. Jinko Solar Holding and Trina Solar are among those that have also fallen foul of the tightening regulations. To clear the goods, importers must submit documents within three months to prove that the allegations are not applicable to them.

Longi has established product traceability measures and can provide traceability evidence to prove that the silicon raw materials used in the components temporarily detained by US customs meet the regulatory requirements of the US government, the firm said.

China’s solar products have long the target of US trade sanctions due to their competitive pricing. The US government started to levy anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on them from 2011. In 2018, a 30 percent tariff was added to Chinese PV imports by the Trump administration. These are set to expire next year.

Longi’s share price [SHE:601012] closed up 1.73 percent today at CNY92.57 (USD14).

Editor: Kim Taylor