The United States has imposed new tariffs of up to 3521% on solar panel imports from four Southeast Asian countries. This was reported by Bloomberg.
The tariffs, announced on April 21, are the culmination of a year-long trade investigation that found that solar panel manufacturers in Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand were unfairly benefiting from government subsidies and selling their exports to the United States at prices below their cost of production.
The investigation was initiated by American solar panel manufacturers and began under former President Joe Biden.
The tariffs, announced on April 21, are the culmination of a year-long trade investigation that found that solar panel manufacturers in Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand were unfairly benefiting from government subsidies and selling their exports to the United States at prices below their cost of production.
The investigation was initiated by American solar panel manufacturers and began under former President Joe Biden.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, duties were set at 3521% for Cambodia, reflecting the country's decision to discontinue its participation in the investigation.
Companies in Vietnam will face tariffs of up to 395,9%, while Thailand is set at 375,2%. Malaysia has been set at 34,4%. Higher tariffs have been set for individual companies.
Last year, the U.S. imported $12,9 billion worth of solar equipment from the four countries that will be subject to the new tariffs, accounting for about 77% of total module imports.
Benefit for the US
While the tariffs are intended to benefit American manufacturers, they will also hurt American renewable energy developers who have long relied on cheap foreign supplies. This has added uncertainty to a sector that is being affected by political and policy shifts in Washington.
The duties would be in addition to new tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump that have upended global supply chains and markets. The anti-dumping and countervailing duties, as they are called, are designed to offset the cost of alleged unfair subsidization and pricing, as calculated by the Commerce Department.
While promises of subsidies and demand spurred by Biden's inflation-reducing law have helped spark a wave of interest and investment in new solar panel factories across the U.S., manufacturers have warned that these plants are threatened by foreign competitors selling their equipment at below-market prices.
"This is a decisive victory for American manufacturing," — said Tim Brightbill, co-chair of Wiley's international trade practice and lead lawyer for the coalition of solar energy companies that prosecuted the case.
The study's findings confirm "what we've long known: China-headquartered solar companies are cheating the system, undermining American companies, and depriving American workers of their livelihoods," he said.
Impact on Asia
Since the US decision was largely expected, companies have shifted some of their production capacity to tariff-free countries such as Indonesia and Laos.
“We don’t think the higher rates will have a major financial impact, especially after the recent reciprocal tariffs,” says a note from BofA Global Research.
According to Bloomberg, Indonesia is expected to have more than 20 gigawatts of foreign-owned solar power capacity by the middle of this year, up from 1 gigawatt at the end of 2022.
However, other countries, including India, Indonesia and Laos, could be subject to the possible imposition of new tariffs later this year.
After tariffs were imposed on solar panel imports from China about 12 years ago, Chinese manufacturers responded by locating operations in other countries that were not affected by the tariffs.
The US initiated the investigation following a petition by the American Alliance for Solar Energy Trade Committee, which represents companies such as First Solar, Hanwha Q Cells and Mission Solar Energy LLC.
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