logo
US imposes tariffs as high as 3,521% on solar imports from Southeast Asia

US imposes tariffs as high as 3,521% on solar imports from Southeast Asia

The US set new duties as high as 3,521 per cent on solar imports from four Southeast Asian countries, delivering a win for domestic manufacturers while intensifying headwinds already threatening the country's renewable power development.
The duties announced Monday are the culmination of a yearlong trade probe that found solar manufacturers in Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand were unfairly benefiting from government subsidies and selling exports to the US at rates lower than the cost of production. The investigation was sought by domestic solar manufacturers and initiated under former President Joe Biden.
While the duties are set to benefit domestic manufacturers, they also will pinch US renewable developers that have long relied on inexpensive foreign supplies, heightening uncertainty for a sector whipsawed by political and policy changes in Washington.
The levies will be in addition to new widespread tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump that have upended global supply chains and markets. The antidumping and countervailing duties, as they are known, are designed to offset the value of alleged unfair subsidization and pricing, as calculated by the Commerce Department.
The department's determination is a victory for domestic manufacturing that both Trump and Biden have tried to galvanize. Potential beneficiaries include Hanwha Q Cells and First Solar Inc., among others.
Although the promise of subsidies and demand stoked by Biden's Inflation Reduction Act have helped drive a wave of interest — and investment — in new domestic solar panel factories across the US, manufacturers warned those factories were imperiled by foreign rivals 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 counsel for the coalition of solar companies that pursued the case.
The findings confirm 'what we've long known: that Chinese-headquartered solar companies have been cheating the system, undercutting US companies and costing American workers their livelihoods,' he said.
Countrywide duties were set as high as 3,521 per cent for Cambodia, reflecting the country's decision to stop participating in the investigation, according to the Commerce Department.
The US imported $12.9 billion in solar equipment last year from the four countries that would be subject to the new duties, according to BloombergNEF. That represents about 77 per cent of total module imports.
Companies not named in Vietnam face duties of as much as 395.9 per cent with Thailand set at 375.2 per cent. Country-wide rates for Malaysia were posted at 34.4 per cent. Jinko Solar was assessed duties of about 245 per cent for exports from Vietnam and 40 per cent for exports from Malaysia. Trina Solar in Thailand faces levies of 375 per cent and more than 200 per cent from Vietnam. JA Solar modules from Vietnam could be assessed at about 120 per cent.
Trina shares ended trading 2.6 per cent lower on Tuesday in Asia, while Jinko fell 2.9 per cent and JA Solar declined 0.7 per cent. Shares of First Solar gained 7.2 per cent in pre-market trading on Tuesday morning in the US, while Jinko fell 2.9 per cent and Canadian Solar Inc. declined 4.2 per cent.
'We don't think the higher rates will have much financial impact especially post recent reciprocal tariffs,' according to a note by BofA Global Research.
Indonesia is expected to have more than 20 gigawatts of foreign-owned solar manufacturing capacity by the middle of this year, from just 1 gigawatt at the end of 2022, according to BloombergNEF.
However, other nations including India, Indonesia and Laos could be targeted by a possible new round of duties later this year, according to a note by Roth Industries citing Joseph C. Johnson, an associate director at Clean Energy Associates.
Chinese solar maker JA Solar said in a written response to Bloomberg News that the company is closely monitoring the US tariff development while accelerating its globalization efforts. These include a manufacturing plant in Oman that will start operation by the end of 2025 with 6-gigawatt cells and 3-gigawatt module capacity.
The duties hinge on separate action by the US International Trade Commission, which is set to decide in about a month whether producers are being harmed or are threatened by the imports.
After similar duties were imposed on solar imports from China roughly 12 years ago, Chinese manufacturers responded by setting up operations in other nations that weren't affected by the tariffs. The US initiated a probe that was triggered by an April petition from the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, which represents companies including First Solar, Hanwha Q Cells and Mission Solar Energy LLC.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘Kennedy must fall': CIA releases 1,450 pages on Robert F Kennedy assassination; includes chilling note saying he ‘must be disposed of'
‘Kennedy must fall': CIA releases 1,450 pages on Robert F Kennedy assassination; includes chilling note saying he ‘must be disposed of'

Time of India

time34 minutes ago

  • Time of India

‘Kennedy must fall': CIA releases 1,450 pages on Robert F Kennedy assassination; includes chilling note saying he ‘must be disposed of'

The CIA has declassified and released 1,450 additional pages tied to the 1968 assassination of Robert F Kennedy, including 54 documents that were previously classified. Among the new material is a psychological profile of Sirhan Sirhan, the Palestinian-born Jordanian convicted of Kennedy's murder, as well as his handwritten notes, one ominously reading, 'Kennedy must fall' and 'tonight, tonight. ' The fresh cache may offer new insight into Sirhan's motivations, family background, and international links, though the CIA stressed he was not tied to any terrorist organisation. The documents also detail RFK's 1955 visit to the Soviet Union with then-Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, during which Kennedy reportedly acted as a voluntary informant for the CIA. A CIA official described Kennedy's cooperation as reflective of his 'patriotism and commitment to serving his country,' especially during the height of Cold War tensions when the USSR was America's top geopolitical rival. The release is part of an ongoing transparency effort. 'Today's release delivers on President Trump's commitment to maximum transparency,' said CIA Director John Ratcliffe, adding, 'I am proud to share our work on this incredibly important topic with the American people.' Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had earlier overseen the release of more than 10,000 pages related to Kennedy's assassination at a Los Angeles hotel after winning the 1968 California Democratic primary. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo In April this year, about 10,000 pages of records related to Kennedy assasination were released, including handwritten notes by the gunman, who said the Democratic presidential candidate 'must be disposed of' and acknowledged an obsession with killing him. RFK's son, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, welcomed the move. 'I commend President Trump for his courage and his commitment to transparency,' he said. 'I'm grateful also to Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe for their dogged efforts to root out and declassify these documents.'

Boeing shares slide 5% after Air India Dreamliner crash kills over 200
Boeing shares slide 5% after Air India Dreamliner crash kills over 200

India Today

time35 minutes ago

  • India Today

Boeing shares slide 5% after Air India Dreamliner crash kills over 200

Boeing shares dropped over 5% on Thursday following the crash of an Air India 787-8 Dreamliner shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, dealing a major blow to the American planemaker's safety record and its ongoing turnaround under new CEO Kelly AI171, bound for London, went down minutes after departure, killing more than 200 people in what is now the world's deadliest aviation disaster in a decade. The cause of the crash remains unclear. advertisementBoeing, in a brief statement, said it was "aware of initial reports and is working to gather more information." The crash marks the first fatal incident involving the 787 since the model entered commercial service in 2011. While the aircraft was temporarily grounded in 2013 due to battery-related fires, no fatalities had previously been reported on the widebody jet, which is considered one of the most modern long-haul aircraft in timing is particularly sensitive for Boeing, which had recently notched new orders and met production targets in May, with hopes of showcasing its progress at the upcoming Paris Air Show. The fatal crash has now cast a shadow over those Beauchamp, an analyst at IG Group, told news agency Reuters that this is a knee-jerk reaction to the incident. 'There's renewed fear about the problems that have plagued Boeing aircraft and the company itself in recent years,' he TROUBLE FOR BOEINGadvertisementBoeing continues to face regulatory scrutiny and reputational damage from its 737 MAX program, which suffered two fatal crashes in 2018 and recently, a door plug incident on a 737 MAX 9 mid-flight triggered a temporary FAA grounding and raised fresh concerns over quality of Spirit AeroSystems, a key supplier to Boeing, and GE Aerospace, which makes engines for the Dreamliner, also fell around 3% each. GE Aerospace said on social media that it had activated its emergency response team and would assist with the investigation. It did not confirm whether its engines were on the Air India stock was trading at $196.75 after having fallen as much as 8% in pre-market trading. The company now faces mounting pressure to respond to the crash and reassure both regulators and passengers globally.

Impacts of the U.S.' crackdown on foreign-born students : Data Newsletter
Impacts of the U.S.' crackdown on foreign-born students : Data Newsletter

The Hindu

time42 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Impacts of the U.S.' crackdown on foreign-born students : Data Newsletter

This article forms a part of the Data Point newsletter curated by The Hindu's Data team. To get the newsletter in your inbox, subscribe here Welcome back, data enthusiasts! As US President Donald Trump continues imposing restrictions on universities in the face of alleged anti-semitism, Indian students abroad and aspirants in the subcontinent have had to navigate uncertainty regarding their futures. Over the course of these crackdowns since Trump ascended to his second term of presidency, we at The Hindu Data team used numbers to analyse the various ways in which students and the U.S. itself are impacted. The first month of Trump's second term saw a sharp decline in the number of student visas issued to Indians, notably steeper than the decline in visas issued to Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese students. We explored the visa denial rates of Indians over time as well as the average number of days Indian students have to wait for an approval when compared to students from other countries. U.S. visas issued to Indian students decline by 30% in Trump's first month of presidency As federal investigations into U.S. universities continued and Harvard's federal grants were frozen, we delved into what was touted as the cause behind these actions. Anti-semitic discrimination on campus was claimed to be the primary motivation, despite actions revealing a bigger interest in governmental regulation of private universities, as well as a disclosure of foreign funding sources and hiring and admission-related data. We looked at how the U.S. fared in terms of academic freedom compared to a decade ago. We also looked into the incidents that warranted this federal surveillance on specific institutions, and how many of these were, in fact, protests. Further, seeing that the federal government demanded that these universities immediately halt all DEI (Diversity, equity, and inclusion) programmes and policies, we looked at the racial and ethnic composition of students at these institutions, using data from the American Council on Education. We noticed that the universities classified as having high research activity tended to host more international students as well as more racially and ethnically diverse batches. What is behind Trump's crackdown on U.S. universities? Beyond having revoked many students' international visas, the Trump administration paused scheduling of new visa interviews globally and expanded its vetting of accounts of foreign students on social media. We looked into how much of enrolments into STEM degrees are foreign-born students, and how much economic value Indian students bring to the U.S. As U.S. pauses new visa interviews, why international students matter | Data What we published in the last two weeks The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently projected that India will edge past Japan to become the world's fourth largest economy in 2025. We questioned the scope of absolute GDP as an indicator of development by compiling how India, Japan, and Poland, a country with a relatively low absolute GDP, fare in various other aspects such as education, industry, health, and more. India's rise to 4th largest economy: Does GDP growth alone show the whole picture? In the weeks following Operation Sindoor, discussions on the efficacy of India's home-grown defence capabilities roused curiosity in how much of our weaponry is imported. We collected data which shows that while India continues to import a large share of its defence equipment and weapons, domestic manufacturing has picked up exponentially. Defence production in India receives a fillip | Data We dived into the most exhilarating sports event of the week; the tennis Grand Slam final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner which amounted to one of the longest finals in the tournament. Using player stats and history, we examined what made this one of the greatest matches in men's tennis. Why the Alcaraz-Sinner French Open final is among the most epic battles News in Numbers Here are some important News in Numbers from last week: 3.2 crores Number of disaster displacements in India in the last decade The report by the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) said disasters triggered 264.8 million internal displacements or forced movements across 210 countries and territories during this period. East and South Asia were the most affected regions. In 2024 alone, 54 lakh displacements were recorded in India, the highest in 12 years. The report attributes rising displacement figures to both worsening climate events and better tracking. Source: PTI 2.4 lakh Number of Americans filing for jobless benefits last week (as of June 6) Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits rose to their highest level in eight months last week but remain historically low despite growing uncertainty about how tariffs could impact the broader economy. New applications for jobless benefits rose by 8,000 to 247,000 for the week ending May 31, the Labour Department said Thursday. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs and have mostly bounced around a historically healthy range between 200,000 and 250,000 since COVID-19 throttled the economy five years ago, wiping out millions of jobs. Source: AFP 20% Percentage increase in Pakistan's defence budget this year Pakistan announced on Tuesday a 20 percent hike in defence spending in this year's federal budget, a month after a conflict with India that saw the worst violence in decades. Finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented a $62 billion budget to parliament on Tuesday evening, allocating 14 percent to the military -- rising from 2.12 trillion Pakistani rupees ($7.5 billion) to 2.55 trillion this coming fiscal year. Source: AFP Thank you for reading this week's edition of the Data Point newsletter! Please send your feedback to

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store