The U.S. International Trade Commission has unanimously decided that solar cell production in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, supported by local incentives, is hurting the U.S. industry. This decision paves the way for the Commerce Department to finalize its decisions on countervailing duties by July 18 and anti-dumping duties by October 1.
In its preliminary findings, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) found reasonable evidence that the domestic solar panel manufacturing industry is being significantly harmed by imported solar cells from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. These countries have been found to offer government incentives for setting up manufacturing facilities, which prompted this study.
The complaint was initially filed by the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, which includes prominent members such as First Solar, Hanwha Qcells USA and Mission Solar Energy. according to the USITC. The group’s press release also mentioned Convalt Energy, REC Silicon and Swift Solar.
Industry insiders said this pv magazine USA that this outcome was expected from this group.
A detailed report entitled “Crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, assembled or not in modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam; Inv. Nos. 701-TA-722-725 and 731-TA-1690-1693” is scheduled for release on July 5, 2024 on the USITC website.
The specific outcome of this meeting is that the US Department of Commerce will do so continues his latest ongoing research on this topic. Commerce will announce its preliminary countervailing duty assessment results on July 18, while the anti-dumping results will be released on October 1. These will be followed by final rulings from Commerce and final rulings from the USITC on this topic.
In its initial filing, the USITC said the four countries have exported 71 GW of solar panels to the US over the past three years, worth $21 billion. During the same period, the US installed a total of 83.8 GW of solar capacity. As USITC data shows, there is currently an estimated 50 GW of solar panels stored in warehouses across the country. The US Energy Information Administration predicts that More than 50 GW of new solar capacity will be installed in the US by 2024.
A significant portion of these imported solar panels are used in utility-scale solar projects.
The goods under investigation include photovoltaic cells and crystalline silicon (CSPV) modules, as well as laminates and panels containing these cells. Excluded from this review are thin-film photovoltaic products made from materials such as amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride or copper-indium-gallium selenide, typical of products manufactured by First Solar. Off-grid CSPV panels are also excluded from this study.
Currently, the cost of importing solar panels into the US could increase dramatically. according to Clean Energy Associates, if the panels come from China. The collective effect of multiple tariffs – including Section 201, 301, Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties – could increase the price of imported panels by 15% without Chinese connections, and up to 286% for Vietnamese modules, if the proposed tariffs were reduced . approved.
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