SAN
JOSE, Calif., Nov. 14,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd.
(NASDAQ: MAXN) ("Maxeon" or the "Company"), a global leader in
solar innovation and channels, today announced that Maxeon solar
panels continue to be detained and inexplicably excluded from being
imported from its Mexico
manufacturing facilities into the U.S. market. Despite having fully
and transparently mapped its supply chains and provided U.S.
Customs & Border Protection (CBP) officials with thorough
traceability documentation of its clean supply chain, CBP reviewers
have alleged a lack of sufficient documentation to
prove Maxeon's compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention
Act (UFLPA), which the Company vehemently refutes, having provided
clear and objective evidence to the contrary.
Maxeon out-going CEO Bill
Mulligan commented: "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. Over
the past twenty years we have consistently taken extraordinary
measures to ensure a clean and traceable supply chain that have
cost us hundreds of millions of dollars more than our competition.
CBP has found no evidence of non-compliance with the UFLPA.
Nonetheless, the Partnership track (under CTPAT) of CBP Electronics
Center of Excellence and Expertise has decided to bar entry of our
products. We are strong proponents of the UFLPA and have provided
CBP with tens of thousands of pages of documentation, including
numerous walk throughs for explanation of standard manufacturing
and shipping processes. None of our supply chains involve entities
on the UFLPA list, two of our supply chains do not even enter
China, and yet the reviewers have
declined to make the appropriate determination that UFLPA does not
apply. This outcome is even more disappointing given the pressing
need to facilitate our country's transition to clean energy."
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act was signed into law by
President Joe Biden in December 2020. This legislation was the U.S.
response to claims of the use of forced labor of Uyghurs in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in the People's Republic of China. Maxeon has
been a vocal advocate supporting UFLPA compliance across the solar
industry supply chain. In 2022, Maxeon voluntarily previewed its
supply chain with CBP for full transparency, with no issues raised
at the time or subsequently noted. Maxeon also took the
unprecedented step of publishing detailed supply chain maps on its
website that disclosed full supply chain details including vendors
and manufacturing locations from quartz through finished panels.
Since 2022, Maxeon has made over 8,000 shipments from Mexico into the U.S. in full compliance with
UFLPA.
Three separate Maxeon products manufactured in Mexico for use in the United States were first detained in early
July, including Maxeon 3 and Maxeon 6 residential solar modules,
and Performance 6 commercial modules. Since then, all shipments
have been subsequently excluded, even though Maxeon has clearly
established the supply chains for each, from quartz to module, are
outside the scope of the UFLPA because they are produced entirely
outside of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region ("XUAR"), and in
the case of Maxeon 3 and Maxeon 6 entirely outside of China, and by entities not on the UFLPA Entity
List.
On October 7, the Company
submitted additional applicability packets relating to the
detention of 156 containers of its Performance line panels and on
November 6, while CBP still made no
findings of forced labor in violation of UFLPA, it has determined
to continue to exclude the Company's Performance line
modules. The Company plans to submit one or more protests
pursuant to Sections 514 & 514(a), Tariff Act of 1930 as
amended, 19 CFR Part 174 et. seq. for the detention of its
Performance line products. Additionally, on September 27, the Company submitted a protest for
the detention of a container of its Maxeon 6 products and filed a
similar protest on October 4 with
respect to its Maxeon 3 products. On October 8, CBP suspended these protests and sent
them to its Office of Regulations & Rulings in Washington, D.C. following Maxeon's
application for further review.
These detentions continue to cause severe financial and
reputational damage to Maxeon and its U.S. customers, which include
solar power plant developers as well as numerous small businesses
that install solar panels on residential homes in 30 states across
the country.
"Maxeon has now moved review of its Maxeon 3 and Maxeon 6
products into the next level of review, called the Application for
Further Review (AFR) process, and will submit a protest for its
Performance line products," Mulligan added. "These processes will
engage a new team of CBP reviewers who we hope will be able to
provide an objective application of the UFPLA. We remain optimistic
that this new team will be able to expeditiously reach the right
conclusion and clear our products for importation."
About Maxeon Solar Technologies
Maxeon Solar Technologies (NASDAQ: MAXN) is Powering Positive
Change™. Headquartered in Singapore, Maxeon leverages nearly 40 years of
solar energy leadership and over 1,900 patents to design innovative
and sustainably made solar panels and energy solutions for
residential, commercial, and power plant customers. Maxeon's
integrated home energy management is a flexible ecosystem of
products and services, built around the award-winning
Maxeon® and SunPower® branded solar panels.
With a network of more than 1,700 trusted partners and
distributors, and more than one million customers worldwide, the
Company is a global leader in solar. For more information about how
Maxeon is Powering Positive Change™ visit us at www.maxeon.com, on
LinkedIn and on Twitter/X @maxeonsolar.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including,
but not limited to, statements regarding our future plans and areas
of focus, our positioning and actions to prove regulatory
compliance, the effectiveness of our environmental and
sustainability efforts and the incorporation of governance-led,
sustainable or environmentally beneficial features in our
management.
These forward-looking statements are based on our current
assumptions, expectations and beliefs and involve substantial risks
and uncertainties that may cause results, performance, or
achievement to materially differ from those expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements. A detailed discussion of these
factors and other risks that affect our business is included in
filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC")
from time to time, including our most recent report on Form 20-F,
particularly under the heading "Item 3.D. Risk Factors." Copies of
these filings are available online from the SEC or on the
Financials & Filings section of our Investor Relations website
at https://corp.maxeon.com/financials-filings/sec-filings. All
forward-looking statements in this press release are based on
information currently available to us, and we assume no obligation
to update these forward-looking statements in light of new
information or future events.
©2024 Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
MAXEON is a registered trademark of Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd.
Visit https://corp.maxeon.com/trademarks for more information.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/maxeon-provides-update-on-cbp-detention-of-its-solar-panels-302304957.html
SOURCE Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd.
