Maxeon filed a grievance within the U.S. Court docket of Worldwide Commerce (CIT) towards Customs and Border Safety (CBP) for stopping Maxeon panels from coming into the nation.
Photo voltaic panel meeting at Maxeon’s facility in Mexico.
The photo voltaic panel producer has been battling “inaccurate” actions by the company for nearly two years, because the CBP holds Mexican-assembled Maxeon panels for evaluations below the Uyghur Pressured Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). Maxeon has supplied the mandatory data exhibiting its provide chains and no documented connection to alleged pressured labor circumstances in China, but CBP continues to detain the modules.
In March 2025, CBP denied Maxeon’s protests on the detained shipments of photo voltaic panels. CBP provided solely a “generic and arbitrary conclusion that the documentation submitted by Maxeon was supposedly inadequate,” regardless of the corporate offering 1000’s of pages of paperwork demonstrating full compliance. In July 2025, Maxeon filed the grievance with CIT.
The panel detention has been an enormous blow to Maxeon, particularly because the once-global firm now solely focuses on the U.S. market. Maxeon offered its European, Asian and Latin American gross sales channels and entities, whereas retaining its Mexican meeting plant and transferring ahead with plans for a 2-GW photo voltaic panel manufacturing unit in New Mexico. With most merchandise unable to get into the nation, Maxeon financials have nosedived. The corporate reported $39 million in income for the primary six months of 2025, whereas it reached $371 million for a similar interval in 2024. Plans for the U.S. manufacturing unit have been paused.
The CIT was scheduled to supply an replace on this case in mid-October, however the authorities shutdown prevented any progress, and no replace has since been launched.
Qcells additionally had photo voltaic cells detained by CBP below UFLPA assessment. The Korean firm was importing the photo voltaic cells for module meeting at its factories in Georgia, and the inconsistent provide forced Qcells to furlough 1,000 staff and provoke a lowered work schedule in early fall. Qcells stated imports had been finally cleared via CBP, because the merchandise had been compliant with UFLPA guidelines, however it will take time to ramp the factories again as much as a full workforce. Qcells has taken no additional motion towards the federal company.
