Despite significant efforts to build domestic production, U.S. solar projects are still powered by imported solar panels. World of solar energy import data from the US International Trade Commission and found that the United States imported 33 GW of silicon solar panels in 2025, along with 21 GW of silicon solar cells. The cell count is important because it indicates that domestic solar panel manufacturers are ramping up production, and perhaps the majority of installed solar panels in the United States will soon be assembled in America.
It is interesting to follow the import trends throughout the year. In 2024, imports mainly came from Southeast Asia. Over the past year, most of the panels imported came from Indonesia, Laos and India – the three countries under investigation in the latest anti-dumping/countervailing duty (AD/CVD) trade case. Cambodia, the fourth-ranked country in terms of imports in 2024 with 4.5 GW, shipped only 3.3 MW of panels in 2025.
Two countries started 2025 without exporting solar panels to the United States before becoming major suppliers in December: Ethiopia and the Philippines.
Most imported cells came from Indonesia and Laos in 2025. South Korea is also a leading country for cell exports to the United States. With approximately 50 GW of silicon panel assembly capacity in the United States and less than 5 GW of domestic cell production, many more cells will need to be imported.
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