United States Plans to Hit Southeast Asian Solar Imports with Tariffs as High as 3,400 Percent

On 21 April, the United States Department of Commerce announced its final decision in a major trade investigation targeting solar imports from four Southeast Asian countries. 

As a result, the US plans to impose steep new tariffs on those imports. 

Certain Cambodian exporters, for example, now face tariffs as high as 3,403.96 percent due to a lack of cooperation during the investigation, the International Trade Administration website reported. 

The investigation found that crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells (solar cells) imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam were being sold in the US at unfairly low prices and with the backing of large government subsidies.

Meanwhile, Malaysian exporters are looking at anti-dumping rates around 8.59 percent and subsidy rates up to 168.80 percent, with some companies facing combined duties of more than 200 percent. 

In Thailand, tariffs are even steeper for some firms, with dumping penalties reaching 202.90 percent and subsidies climbing to 799.55 percent. 

Vietnamese companies are also being hit hard, with some exporters facing anti-dumping duties of up to 271.28 percent and subsidy rates as high as 542.64 percent.

However, these tariffs will only come into effect if the US International Trade Commission agrees, by 2 June, that the imports are causing harm to American solar manufacturers. If the Commission confirms the damage, the duties will be enforced.

The Department of Commerce was careful to point out that this case is not about companies dodging existing tariffs on Chinese-made solar products. Rather, it focuses on stopping what officials call unfair pricing and improper government support in the Southeast Asian supply chain. 

Much of the manufacturing in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam is conducted by Chinese firms, which have shifted operations to these countries in recent years.

According to the US government, the vast majority of imported solar panels and modules entering the country come from these four nations. 

The decision marks one of the most aggressive trade enforcement actions in recent years and could have a major impact on the availability and price of solar products in the United States.

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