US trade officials have finalized steep tariffs on most solar cells imported from Southeast Asia, marking a key step in ending a year-long trade dispute sparked by allegations that Chinese companies are flooding the US market with “unfairly” cheap products.
The lawsuit was filed last year by South Korea’s Hanwha Qcells, Arizona-based First Solar and several smaller manufacturers, seeking to protect billions in investments in the domestic solar industry.
The plaintiff group, the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, accused major Chinese solar panel makers – which have factories in Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam – of exporting panels below cost and using unfair government subsidies, making American products uncompetitive.
The tariffs announced on Monday are significantly higher than preliminary ones announced late last year. The final decision on whether they will come into effect will depend on a vote by the US International Trade Commission (ITC), which is scheduled for June. The commission will decide whether the US industry has indeed suffered damage from subsidised and dumped imports.
The lowest combined duties (dumping + subsidies) were set for products from Jinko Solar of Malaysia – 41.56%, while Trina Solar of Thailand will be hit with duties of as much as 375.19%.
Cambodian manufacturers that have not cooperated with US investigators face record duties of more than 3,500%.
“These are extremely strong results,” said attorney Tim Brightbill, representing the US plaintiffs. “We are confident that these measures will address the long-standing unfair practices of Chinese companies that have undermined the US solar industry.”
Last year, the four Asian countries involved in the case exported more than $10 billion worth of solar products, accounting for the bulk of US supplies. But the announcement of possible tariffs has already caused drastic changes in world trade – imports from the aforementioned countries have fallen significantly this year, while imports from countries such as Laos and Indonesia have increased.
Critics of the measures, including the leading US solar energy association SEIA, warn that the tariffs could increase prices for American manufacturers because a large number of imported panels are used in domestic panel assembly. These factories are seeing growth thanks to subsidies introduced in 2022 for domestic renewable energy production, according to CNN.
