AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called for the Biden administration to block imports of critical solar energy components from China’s Xinjiang region. The region produces more than half of the world’s polysilicon, a critical component of photovoltaic solar panels. The “convincing evidence of systematic forced labor in the Uyghurs region’s solar production demands immediate focused action,” Trumka wrote in a March 12 letter. President Biden has accused China of “genocide” over its efforts to wipe out the culture of predominantly Muslim Uyghurs in XinJiang. Trumka’s letter, sent to top national security and State Department officials, highlights the treacherous web of competing political, moral, and strategic interests faced by the Biden administration in its efforts to decarbonize the American economy. (Bloomberg $, Reuters, New York Times $; Biden statement: Bloomberg $)
