In addition to the existing tariffs, the USA intends to impose further tariffs on solar modules from four Southeast Asian countries. As the International Trade Administration (ITA) announced on Monday, the average surcharge for crystalline solar cells and modules from Cambodia will be 651.85 percent, for modules from Malaysia 34.41 percent, for modules from Thailand 375.19 percent and for modules from Vietnam 395.85 percent. Duties of up to 3,403.96 percent have been announced for individual companies. According to the announcement, companies in these countries have received subsidies from the Chinese government. Among those affected are local subsidiaries of Trinasolar, Jinko, JA Solar and Hanhwa Q Cells. The ITA puts the import volume for 2023 at 6.7 gigawatts of solar power (Cambodia), 6.8 GW (Malaysia), 10.6 GW (Thailand) and 12.3 GW (Vietnam).
The ITA’s anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations were launched in April 2024 at the initiative of the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee. The association, which represents a number of US solar manufacturers such as REC Silicon, as well as the US subsidiaries of Meyer Burger and Qcells, welcomed the outcome: “These investigations confirm that manufacturers and exporters from these countries have been dumping solar products onto the US market at unfairly low prices and benefiting from countervailable subsidies, causing significant harm to the domestic solar industry.”
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), on the other hand, had repeatedly criticized the planned tariffs, as they would increase the prices of imported solar cells and thus also weaken US module manufacturers.
The International Trade Commission (ITC), an independent authority, now has until 2 June 2025 to examine whether the industry has suffered material injury as a result of the dumped and subsidized imports. If the authority confirms this, the tariffs will come into force.
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Overview of customs duties (ITA)
Press release American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee
