US sets tariffs on photovoltaic from Southeast Asian countries

US trade officials on Friday announced a new round of tariffs on imports of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels from four Southeast Asian countries after American manufacturers complained that companies from those countries are flooding the market with unfairly cheap products.
It is the second of two preliminary decisions President Joe Biden’s Commerce Department is making this year in a trade case brought by Korea’s Hanwha Qcells (000880.KS), opens new tab, Arizona-based First Solar Inc (FSLR.O), opens new tab and several smaller producers seeking to protect billions of dollars in investments in solar manufacturing in the United States.

The group, the Trade Committee of the American Alliance for Solar Energy Manufacturing, accused large Chinese solar panel manufacturers with factories in Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand of causing global prices to collapse by rushing products to market. According to a preliminary decision posted on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s website on Friday, the agency assessed anti-dumping duties of between 21.31% and 271.2%, depending on the company, on solar cells from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Jinko Solar opens new tab was assessed duties of 21.31% for products made in Malaysia and 56.51% for those produced in Vietnam.
China’s Trina Solar was assessed a dumping margin of 77.85% for products it makes in Thailand and 54.46% for those it makes in Vietnam.
In contrast, the Commerce Department did not assess any dumping margin for Hanwha Qcells products made in Malaysia. In October, the department had assessed a subsidy rate of 14.72% for the company. The department’s final determinations are due April 18, 2025, and the International Trade Administration is scheduled to finalize its determinations by June 2, with final orders expected by June 9.
“With these preliminary duties, we are moving closer to addressing years of unfair and harmful trade and protecting billions of dollars of investment in new U.S. solar manufacturing and supply chains,” said Tim Brightbill, a partner at Wiley Rein and lead counsel for the petitioners.
Most solar panels installed in the United States are manufactured overseas, with about 80% of imports coming from the four countries targeted by the Commerce Department’s investigation.
The Biden administration this year raised the alarm about China’s massive investment in manufacturing capacity for clean energy goods. Biden’s landmark climate change law, the Inflation Reduction Act, includes incentives for companies that produce clean energy equipment in the United States, a subsidy that has sparked a flurry of plans for new solar factories. President-elect Donald Trump has called the Inflation Reduction Act too expensive, but he has also said he plans to impose steep tariffs on a range of industries to protect American workers.
Dumping occurs when a company sells a product in the United States at a price that is below its cost of production or below the price it charges in its home country.