&w=3840&q=100)
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.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Economic Times
32 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Shein and Reliance aim to sell India-made clothes abroad within a year, sources say
Fashion retailer Shein and partner Reliance Retail plan to rapidly expand their Indian supplier base and start overseas sales of India-made Shein-branded clothes within six to 12 months, said two people with knowledge of the matter. ADVERTISEMENT The China-founded, Singapore-headquartered e-commerce firm has been discussing plans with the Indian retailer since before the U.S. imposed tariffs on Chinese imports that intensified the need to diversify sourcing, the people said. The aim is to raise Indian suppliers to 1,000 from 150 within a year, they said. In a statement to Reuters, Shein said it licensed its brand for use in India. Reliance did not respond to queries. Shein sells low-priced apparel such as $5 dresses and $10 jeans shipped directly from 7,000 suppliers in China to customers in around 150 countries. Its biggest market is the U.S. where it is adjusting to tariffs on low-value e-commerce packages from China which were previously imported duty free. The retailer launched in India in 2018 but its app was banned in 2020 as part of government action against China-linked firms amid border tension with its northeastern neighbour. It returned in February under a licensing deal with the Reliance Industries unit which launched selling Shein-branded clothes produced in local factories. In contrast, Shein's other websites mainly list goods from China. ADVERTISEMENT Reliance, controlled by Asia's richest person, Mukesh Ambani, has contracted 150 garment manufacturers and is in discussion with 400 more, said the two people, declining to be identified due to confidentiality concerns. The goal is 1,000 Indian factories making Shein-branded clothes within a year for both the Indian market and to service some of Shein's global websites, the people said. ADVERTISEMENT Shein initially wants to list India-made clothes on its U.S. and British websites, one of the people said. Discussions have been ongoing for months and the launch time of six to 12 months could change depending on supplier numbers, the person said. The scale of supplier expansion and export time frame is reported here for the first time. ADVERTISEMENT Shein has licensed its brand for domestic use to Reliance which "is responsible for manufacturing, supply chain, sales and operations in the Indian market," Shein said in a statement. In December, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal told parliament that the Shein-Reliance partnership aimed to create a network of Indian suppliers of Shein-branded clothes for sale "domestically and globally". ADVERTISEMENT Shein is a fast-fashion behemoth earning annual revenue of over $30 billion through low prices and aggressive marketing. Most of its products are from China with some made in countries such as Turkey and Brazil. Its expansion in India mirrors interest in the country from the likes of Walmart and others throughout the global fashion and retail industries, particularly those looking for suppliers outside China due to the Sino-U.S. trade war. The Shein India app has been downloaded 2.7 million times across Apple and Google Play stores, averaging 120% on-month growth, showed data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Offerings during its first four months have reached 12,000 designs, a fraction of the 600,000 products on its U.S. site. In the women's dresses category, its cheapest item is priced 349 Indian rupees ($4) versus $3.39 on the U.S. site as of June 9. Shein's Indian partner Reliance, which operates the app, is working with suppliers to assess whether they can replicate Shein's global best-sellers at lower cost, the two people said. Reliance aims to emulate Shein's on-demand manufacturing model, asking suppliers to make as few as 100 pieces per design before increasing production of those that sell well, they said. Executives from Reliance recently visited China to understand Shein's "innovative" supply chain operations, "data driven" design processes and "disruptive" digital marketing, Manish Aziz, assistant vice president Shein India at Reliance Retail, said in a LinkedIn post in which he called Shein's scale and speed "truly incredible". The partnership is one of dozens Reliance has with fashion brands, such as Brooks Brothers and Marks and Spencer. The firm also runs e-commerce site Ajio and its retail network competes with Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart as well as value retailers such as Tata's Zudio. Reliance plans to work with new suppliers to source fabric - especially fabric made using synthetic fibres where India lacks expertise - and import required machinery, the people said. The firm will invest in suppliers and help them grow which in turn will help the Shein-Reliance partnership go global, they said. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)


Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
‘Time for a wheelchair': Internet reacts after Donald Trump stumbles on Air Force One steps
(Source: X) US President Donald Trump stumbled while climbing the steps of Air Force One on Sunday, and the internet wasted no time poking fun. Trump was accompanied by US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who was boarding the plane en route to Camp David after speaking with reporters in Hagerstown, Maryland. The moment quickly went viral, drawing comparisons to the times Trump had mocked former US President Joe Biden for similar mishaps. 'Time to get Old Man Trump fitted for a wheelchair,' wrote political commentator Ron Filipkowski on X. Northwestern law lecturer Jason DeSanto added: 'More beta energy.' Political strategist Marco Frieri joked, 'Cannot wait for all the books and wall-to-wall coverage.' Journalist Aaron Rupar said, 'When Joe Biden did stuff like this, Fox would play the clips over and over like it was as significant as the moon landing.' RC Huffman quipped, 'I'm surprised he hasn't replaced those stairs with a portable escalator of some kind.' The stumble came shortly after Trump was asked whether he would invoke the Insurrection Act to respond to escalating protests in Los Angeles following a wave of immigration raids. 'Depends on whether or not there's an insurrection,' he told reporters. When pressed further on whether he believes such an insurrection is taking place, Trump replied, 'No, no, but you have violent people. And we're not going to let them get away with it.' Asked if he would consider deploying troops even without invoking the law, Trump doubled down. 'We're going to have troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country. We're not going to let our country be torn apart like it was under Biden.' Trump, who frequently criticised Biden for falling during public appearances, once called Biden's 2023 fall at a graduation event 'not inspiring.' At a campaign stop in Iowa, he had also said: 'I hope he wasn't hurt. You don't want that.'


Mint
38 minutes ago
- Mint
How Trump's trade war is supercharging fast fashion industry
Sydney, When US President Donald Trump introduced sweeping new tariffs on Chinese imports the goal was to bring manufacturing back to American soil and protect local jobs. However, this process of re-shoring is complex and requires years of investment and planning – far too slow for the world of ultra-fast fashion, where brands are used to reacting in weeks, not years. Many clothing companies started to move production out of China during Trump's first term. They relocated to countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia when the initial China-specific tariffs hit. This trend accelerated with the newer 'reciprocal' tariffs. Instead of re-shoring production, many fashion brands are simply sourcing from whichever country offers the lowest total cost after tariffs. The result? The ultra-fast fashion machine adapted quickly and became even more exploitative. From Guangzhou to your wardrobe in days Platforms such as Shein and Temu built their success by offering trend-driven clothing at shockingly low prices. A USD 5 dress or USD 3 top might seem like a bargain, but those prices hide a lot. Much of Shein's production takes place in the so-called 'Shein village' in Guangzhou, China, where workers often sew for 12–14 hours a day under poor conditions to keep pace with the demand for new items. When the US cracked down on Chinese imports, the intention was to make American-made goods more competitive. This included raising the tariff on Chinese goods as high as 145 per cent , and closing the 'de minimis' loophole, which had allowed imports under USD 800 to enter tariff-free. But these tariffs did not halt ultra-fast fashion. They just rerouted production to countries with lower tariffs and even lower labour costs. The Philippines, with a comparatively low tariff rate of 17 per cent, emerged as a surprising alternative. However, the country can't provide the industrial scale and infrastructure to match what China can offer. So why does Australia matter? Much of the cheap fashion previously bound for the US is now flooding other markets, including Australia. Australia still allows most low-value imports to enter tax-free, and platforms such as Shein and Temu have taken full advantage. Australian consumers are among the most frequent Shein and Temu buyers per capita globally. Just 3 per cent of clothing is made in Australia and most labels rely on offshore manufacturing. This makes Australia an ideal target market for ultra-fast fashion imports. We have high purchasing power, lenient import rules and strong demand for low-cost style, especially due to the cost-of-living crisis. The hidden costs of cheap clothes The environmental impact of fast fashion is well known. However, amid the chaos of Trump's tariff announcements, far less attention has been paid to how these policies – together with the retreat from climate commitments – worsen environmental harms, including those linked to fast fashion. The irony is that the tariffs meant to protect American workers have, in some cases, worsened conditions for workers elsewhere. Meanwhile, consumers in Australia now benefit from faster delivery of even cheaper goods as Temu, Shein and others have improved their shipping capabilities to Australia. Australian consumers send more than 200,000 tonnes of clothing to landfill each year. But the deeper problem is structural. The entire business model is built on exploitation and environmental damage. Factory workers bear the brunt of cost-cutting. In the race to stay competitive, many manufacturers reduce wages and overlook hazardous working conditions. Will ethical fashion ever compete? Fixing these problems will require a global rethink of how fashion operates. Governments have a role in regulating disclosures about supply chains and enforcing labour standards. Brands need to take responsibility for the conditions in their factories, whether directly owned or outsourced. Transparency is essential. Alternatives to fast fashion are gaining traction. Clothing rentals are emerging as a promising business model that help build a more circular fashion economy. Charity-run op shops have long been a sustainable source of second-hand clothing. Australia's new Seamless scheme seeks to make fashion brands responsible for the full life of the clothes they sell. The aim is to help people buy, wear and recycle clothes in a more sustainable way. Consumers also matter. If we continue to expect clothes to cost less than a cup of coffee, change will be slow. Recognising that a USD 5 t-shirt has hidden costs, borne by people on the factory floor and the environment, is a first step. Some ethical brands are already showing a better way and offer clothes made under fairer conditions and with sustainable materials. These clothes are not as cheap or fast, but they represent a more conscious alternative especially for consumers concerned about synthetic fibres, toxic chemicals and environmental harm. Trump reshuffled the deck, but did not change the game Trump's trade rules aim to re-balance global trade in favour of American industry, yet have cost companies more than USD 34 billion in lost sales and higher costs. This cost will eventually fall on US consumers. In ultra-fast fashion, it mostly exposed how fragile and exploitative the system already was. Today, brands such as Shein and Temu are thriving in Australia. But unless we address the systemic inequalities in fashion production and rethink the incentives that drive this market, the true cost of cheap clothing will continue to be paid by those least able to afford it. PY PY This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.