US tariffs on solar cells persist, volume increases – SPE

By pv magazine USA

US President Joe Biden has issued a proclamation to keep tariffs on crystalline silicon PV cells at 14.25% while allowing imports of up to 12.5 GW, up from 5 GW. This includes cells that may or may not be partially or fully merged into other products and is effective from August 1, 2024.

The solar rates date back to 2018 signed into law by former President Donald Trump. The purpose of Section 201 of the 1974 Trade Act was to limit imports while giving the US time to ramp up a domestic solar supply chain. It wasn’t until four years later, after the Biden administration passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, that a domestic solar supply chain began its upward trajectory.

In April, the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee coalition, made up of a group of manufacturers led by Qcells, signed a petition which alleged that four Southeast Asian countries are exporting dumped goods from China, making it difficult for domestic manufacturers to compete on costs. The companies said the current “manufacturing renaissance” in the United States is threatened by heavily subsidized Chinese cells and modules that allegedly violate anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD).

The IRA’s tax breaks and incentives have encouraged clean energy production in the United States, with many companies announcing solar panel manufacturing facilities. However, earlier stages in the supply chain, such as raw polysilicon, ingots, wafers and solar cell production, have lagged behind, creating gaps in the domestic supply chain. The new proclamation is intended to “further facilitate the positive competitive adjustment of imports of certain crystalline silicon PV cells” while increasing the capacity of U.S.-made solar cells.