U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues to detain solar panels manufactured by Maxeon Solar Technologies in Mexico.

This detention, which began in early July 2024, has affected multiple product lines, including “Maxeon 3” and “Maxeon 6” residential solar modules and “Performance 6” commercial modules.

The UFLPA Compliance Dispute

At the heart of this issue is the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), enacted in December 2020 to address concerns about alleged forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region.

Despite Maxeon’s assertions of full compliance and transparency, CBP officials have alleged insufficient documentation to prove the company’s adherence to the UFLPA.

Bill Mulligan, Maxeon’s outgoing CEO, refuted the allegations. “As a pioneering, ethical solar company founded in the United States almost 40 years ago, Maxeon’s core values are diametrically opposed to the use of forced labor in the production of our products.”

Maxeon said it has undertaken extensive measures to ensure compliance with regulations, including providing documentation to CBP, conducting walk-throughs to explain its manufacturing and shipping processes, and publishing detailed supply chain maps on its website.

The company has made over 8,000 compliant shipments from Mexico to the U.S. since 2022. However, CBP reviewers have declined to determine that UFLPA does not apply to Maxeon’s products.

Impact and Next Steps

The company said the ongoing detentions are causing financial and reputational damage to Maxeon and its U.S. customers, including solar developers and small businesses installing residential solar panels across 30 states.

Maxeon is now pursuing further review processes:

The company said it was optimistic that these new review processes will lead to a favorable outcome, allowing their products to be cleared for importation.

Last August, Maxeon Solar announced that a 3 GW TOPCon photovoltaic-silicon cell and shingled-cell performance line solar module manufacturing facility would be established in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The facility was expected to serve the utility-scale power project sector and the distributed generation rooftop solar applications.