Latest news with #AmericanAllianceforSolarManufacturingTradeCommittee
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US imposes steep tariffs on South East Asian solar cell imports
US trade authorities have confirmed high tariffs on the majority of solar cells imported from four South East Asian countries: Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The move marks a major development in a year-long investigation prompted by allegations from US manufacturers that Chinese-owned companies were undercutting the market with low-priced products. The investigations were launched following a petition filed by the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee in April last year seeking redress for unfair trade practices that have adversely affected the US solar manufacturing industry. The committee comprises a coalition of US solar manufacturers comprising Convalt Energy, First Solar, Hanwha Qcells, Meyer Burger, Mission Solar, REC Silicon, Swift Solar and Talon PV. The committee has accused major Chinese solar panel manufacturers with facilities in Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam of selling panels below production costs and receiving unjust subsidies, rendering US products non-competitive. The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has concluded that certain solar products, specifically crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) cells and modules imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, are being sold in the US at unfairly low (dumped) prices. Additionally, it found that producers in these countries have received government subsidies that give them an unfair competitive edge. These findings pave the way for the imposition of anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) on these imports. The tariffs vary by company and country, with Thailand imposed with CVD rates of up to 799.55%, Vietnam with rates of up to 542.64% and Malaysia with 168.8%. Cambodian products will incur duties exceeding 3,500% due to their producers' decision not to participate in the US investigation, reported Reuters. The duty rates will only be implemented if the US International Trade Commission (ITC) confirms in June that the US industry has been harmed or is at risk of being harmed by certain imports. If the ITC makes this finding, the US DOC will issue AD and CVD orders, which will officially impose duties on imports from the four targeted countries. Wiley International Trade Practice and lead counsel to the American Alliance Tim Brightbill said: "On behalf of the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee and its members, we would like to commend the Commerce Department for its extremely hard work on these important investigations over the last year. 'This is a decisive victory for American manufacturing and confirms what we have long known: that Chinese-headquartered solar companies have been cheating the system, undercutting US companies and costing American workers their livelihoods.' Opponents of the tariffs, such as the Solar Energy Industries Association, argue that they will negatively impact US solar producers by raising prices on imported cells, which are essential components for US panel assembly plants. These factories have been expanding due to a new clean energy manufacturing subsidy introduced in 2022. Additionally, new US tariffs of 10–49% on electrical parts, batteries and equipment from China, South East Asia and Europe, announced earlier this month, could place strain on the US renewables sector. "US imposes steep tariffs on South East Asian solar cell imports" was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
CNN
22-04-2025
- Business
- CNN
US wants to slap tariffs as high as 3,500% on solar panels from Southeast Asia
US trade officials finalized steep tariff levels on most solar cells from Southeast Asia, a key step toward wrapping up a year-old trade case in which American manufacturers accused Chinese companies of flooding the market with unfairly cheap goods. The case was brought last year by Korea's Hanwha Qcells, Arizona-based First Solar Inc and several smaller producers seeking to protect billions of dollars in investments in US solar manufacturing. The petitioner group, the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, accused big Chinese solar panel makers with factories in Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam of shipping panels priced below their cost of production and of receiving unfair subsidies that make American goods uncompetitive. In order for the tariffs to be finalized, the International Trade Commission must vote in June on whether the industry was materially harmed by the dumped and subsidized imports. The tariffs unveiled Monday vary widely depending on the company and country but are broadly higher than the preliminary duties announced late last year. Combined dumping and countervailing duties on Jinko Solar products from Malaysia were among the lowest at 41.56%. Rival Trina Solar's products from its operations in Thailand face tariffs of 375.19%. Neither Jinko nor Trina were immediately available for comment. Products from Cambodia would face duties of more than 3,500% because its producers elected not to cooperate with the US probe. 'These are very strong results,' Tim Brightbill, an attorney for the US manufacturing group, said on a call with reporters. 'We are confident that they will address the unfair trade practices of the Chinese-owned companies in these four countries, which have been injuring the US solar manufacturing industry for far too long.' The threat of tariffs on countries that supplied more than $10 billion of solar products to the United States last year, accounting for the vast majority of domestic supplies, has caused a dramatic shift in the global solar trade. Imports from the four targeted countries this year are a fraction of what they were a year ago, while shipments of panels from nations like Laos and Indonesia are on the rise. Critics of the effort, including the Solar Energy Industries Association trade group, have said tariffs would harm US solar producers because they would raise prices on the imported cells that are assembled into panels by American factories. Those facilities have been on the rise since a new subsidy for clean energy manufacturing was created in 2022. SEIA officials were not immediately available for comment.
Mint
22-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
US slaps steep tariffs on Southeast Asian solar imports
The U.S. broadened its trade dispute with China by imposing steep tariffs on solar imports from four Southeast Asian countries where mainland manufacturers have set up factories in recent years. Tariffs of up to 3,521% on imports of solar cells from Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia would effectively make the products unmarketable to U.S. consumers. That follows a yearlong investigation by the U.S. Department of Commerce into claims by American producers that Chinese companies in those countries were dumping solar cells and panels in the U.S. at artificially low prices. China has become the biggest target in a trade war that the U.S. launched this year over what it sees as unfair trade practices used by most trading partners, including many of Washington's allies. Tit-for-tat tariff responses by the White House and Beijing are threatening to make much of the trade between the world's two biggest economies grind to a halt. The solar tariffs announced Monday illustrate concern in the U.S. that China could avoid paying punitive tariffs by raising exports from a global network of factories that it has expanded in recent years. The American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee last year filed a petition for protection from what it said were China's 'harmful trade practices." The industry group alleged that Beijing's industrial policy has led to massive subsidization in the solar sector in China and Southeast Asia, threatening the U.S. solar manufacturing industry. The new duties reflect the commerce department's findings that some Chinese producers have been shipping solar products through Southeast Asian countries to avoid paying tariffs imposed in the past. The U.S. has become a lucrative market for makers of renewable-energy products, fanned partly by policies introduced by the Biden administration such as the Inflation Reduction Act. Solar energy accounts for more than 15% of electricity generated in states including California and Massachusetts. Last year, the Biden administration issued preliminary decisions to set countervailing duties on solar panels and cells produced in the four Southeast Asian countries, ranging from 0%-300%. The new duties imposed by the Trump administration apply to several companies in Southeast Asia. Some producers in Cambodia face tariffs of more than 3,500%. That comes at a challenging time for the solar industry broadly. Since regaining office, President Trump has begun implementing an energy policy that could jolt demand for solar panels, including by lifting certain barriers to mining coal that some analysts think will slow the closure of coal-fired power plants. Recently introduced tariffs on most U.S. trading partners are expected to drive up costs of new clean-energy projects, including solar. Write to Kimberley Kao at
New Straits Times
22-04-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia slapped with US anti-dumping tariffs on solar cells
KUALA LUMPUR: The United States will impose steep anti-dumping and countervailing duties on solar cells imported from Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, according to news reports. US officials claimed the tariffs are a response to unfair trade practices and subsidies linked to China. Malaysia faces the lowest general anti-dumping duty at 8.59 per cent. However, some companies based in Malaysia may face duties as high as 81.24 per cent due to non-cooperation during the investigations. According to the US Department of Commerce, the investigations revealed that companies in the four countries received subsidies from China. This marks one of the first instances where the department has formally determined the presence of transnational subsidies. The move follows a petition filed in 2023 by the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee. The group alleged that Chinese solar manufacturers were circumventing US tariffs by rerouting their exports through Southeast Asian nations. In 2023, Malaysia exported around US$1.9 billion (RM8.31 billion) worth of solar products to the US, with an average subsidy rate of 34.41 per cent reported. Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand face significantly higher dumping margins of 271.28 per cent, 125.37 per cent and 111.45 per cent respectively on imports of photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules. The final implementation of these duties will depend on a separate decision by the US International Trade Commission, which has until June 2, 2025 to determine whether the imports have caused material injury to the domestic solar industry.
New Straits Times
22-04-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia slapped with anti-dumping tariffs on solar cells by US
KUALA LUMPUR: The United States will impose steep anti-dumping and countervailing duties on solar cells imported from Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, according to news reports. US officials claimed the tariffs are a response to unfair trade practices and subsidies linked to China. Malaysia faces the lowest general anti-dumping duty at 8.59 per cent. However, some companies based in Malaysia may face duties as high as 81.24 per cent due to non-cooperation during the investigations. According to the US Department of Commerce, the investigations revealed that companies in the four countries received subsidies from China. This marks one of the first instances where the department has formally determined the presence of transnational subsidies. The move follows a petition filed in 2023 by the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee. The group alleged that Chinese solar manufacturers were circumventing US tariffs by rerouting their exports through Southeast Asian nations. In 2023, Malaysia exported around US$1.9 billion (RM8.31 billion) worth of solar products to the US, with an average subsidy rate of 34.41 per cent reported. Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand face significantly higher dumping margins of 271.28 per cent, 125.37 per cent and 111.45 per cent respectively on imports of photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules. The final implementation of these duties will depend on a separate decision by the US International Trade Commission, which has until June 2, 2025 to determine whether the imports have caused material injury to the domestic solar industry.
