US imports of solar panels from Southeast Asia face new trade duties

The Commerce Department has implemented preliminary duties on these imports

The United States Commerce Department has established preliminary duties on the imports of solar panels from Southeast Asia, following an initial analysis determining that the equipment is taking advantage of illegal government aid.

This could represent an early victory for US manufacturers

Domestic producers of solar panels have been saying that cheaper imports of the products are harmful to their operations and threaten the potential for investments that were supposed to support the supply chain within the United States.  They called for the government to establish duties, stating that the imports have been benefitting from unfair foreign subsidies that allow them to sell for prices lower than the cost of domestic production.

The countries identified for the duties are those providing the majority of the solar panels and modules imported into the United States.  By rapidly implementing the preliminary duties, the initial impact is likely to be that renewable developers will be facing higher prices for the equipment they rely on.  For many of the imports coming from Vietnam and Thailand, the new duties will not only be applied immediately, but they will also be applied retroactively so that they will impact the imports dating back to early July 2024.

A growing trend in solar panels and other green energy products

This situation places the spotlight on the latest step in a rising trend in which US manufacturers have been seeking to remain competitive against rivals from overseas.  This started about 12 years ago when similar duties were implemented to apply to Chinese solar product imports.

Manufacturers from China responded by establishing operations in other countries in Asia where the import tariffs did not apply.

Among the companies that sought the latest claims were those that were part of the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, which include Mission Solar Energy, First Solar Inc., and Hanwha Qcells USA Inc.

Chinese response

Officials from China have argued that the newly implemented tariffs on solar panels run the risk of harming the American energy transition and its attempt to fight climate change by meeting certain cleaner energy targets.  A number of foreign manufacturers and domestic renewable energy developers have also opposed the move, saying that tariffs could provide an unfair advantage to larger manufacturers in the United States, while making solar energy projects more costly.