The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) voted on Tuesday, May 20, to rule that a large volume of inexpensive solar imports from four Southeast Asian countries has caused substantial harm or threat to the domestic solar panel manufacturing industry in the United States. This paves the way for the imposition of anti-subsidy and anti-dumping tariffs on solar products imported from Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Three members of the US International Trade Commission voted in favor, indicating that the Department of Commerce will issue orders to impose anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duties on solar products imported from the four aforementioned countries, as decided by the Department of Commerce last month.
This vote resolved a trade case from a year ago, in which US solar manufacturers accused Chinese firms of circumventing US trade regulations by exporting low-priced products to the United States through Southeast Asian factories, thereby impacting the American industry. President Trump began implementing wide-ranging measures to impose tariffs on multiple imports to protect American manufacturing after taking office.
According to US law, the Department of Commerce can only impose tariffs if USITC determines that domestic industries are being harmed by unfair subsidy or dumping practices by foreign companies.
USITC announced the ruling on its official website. The case was brought by South Korea’s solar photovoltaic company Hanwha Q CELLS, the Arizona-based company First Solar, and several small to mid-sized manufacturers, aiming to defend their billions of dollars of investment in the US solar manufacturing sector.
Tim Brightbill, the chief lawyer representing the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, stated in a declaration, “The outcome of the Tuesday’s vote clearly demonstrates that these Chinese-based companies have been violating trade laws by heavily dumping unfairly subsidized low-cost solar panels into the US market, and they continue to do so from third-party markets around the world, undermining US investment strategies and hindering new industries.”
He emphasized, “This situation is intolerable. Our growing solar industry deserves – and will now have – the opportunity for fair competition.”
Currently, the vast majority of solar panels used in the United States are imported from Asia.
According to the American Clean Power Association, since the Biden administration introduced the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, which established tax credits for the clean energy manufacturing industry, over 100 solar factories have announced establishment or expansion.
However, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) expressed concerns about the new round of tariffs, believing that the new tariffs will actually harm domestic producers by increasing costs for solar panel buyers.
Abigail Ross Hopper, the president of SEIA, stated in a release, “The decision made by the US International Trade Commission today is worrying for American solar manufacturers and the overall industry.” She added, “This ultimate decision will increase tariff burdens, further raising the costs for American businesses in project development and expanding manufacturing with the required solar products.”
(This article is adapted from a report by Reuters)