Latest news with #TimBrightbill
The Star
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
US trade panel's vote paves way for stiff tariffs on many solar imports
HANOI/PHNOM PENH (Reuters): The US International Trade Commission determined on Tuesday that domestic solar panel makers were materially harmed or threatened by a flood of cheap imports from four South-East Asian nations, bringing the United States a step closer to imposing stiff duties on those goods. The "yes" vote by the three-member ITC means the Commerce Department will issue orders to enforce countervailing and anti-dumping tariffs on solar products imported from Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam that the agency finalised last month. The vote resolves a year-old trade case in which American manufacturers accused Chinese companies of flooding the market with unfairly cheap goods from factories in South-East Asia. Since that time, President Donald Trump has pursued a broad strategy to impose tariffs on imported products to protect manufacturers of U.S.-made goods. The Commerce Department cannot impose tariffs unless the ITC finds that the domestic industry was harmed or threatened by overseas rivals receiving unfair subsidies and dumping products in the U.S. market. The outcome of the vote was posted in a brief notice on the ITC's web site. It was not immediately clear how each commissioner voted. The trade 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 U.S. solar manufacturing. "(Tuesday's) vote leaves no doubt: these Chinese-headquartered companies have been violating trade laws by overwhelming the US market with unfairly cheap, dumped and subsidized solar panels - and they continue to do so from third-party markets around the world, undermining US industrial strategy and stunting new investment," Tim Brightbill, the lead attorney for the petitioning group, the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, said in a statement. "This cannot stand. Our growing American industry deserves - and now will have - the chance to compete fairly," Brightbill said. The vast majority of panels installed in the United States are imported from Asia. In 2022, former President Joe Biden's signature climate change law, the Inflation Reduction Act, created a tax credit for clean energy manufacturing, and more than 100 solar factories have been announced or expanded since then, according to the American Clean Power Association trade group. A top US solar trade group, the Solar Energy Industries Association, said new tariffs would actually harm domestic producers by increasing costs for panel buyers. "(Tuesday's) decision by the US International Trade Commission is concerning for American solar manufacturers and the broader US. solar industry," SEIA President Abigail Ross Hopper said in a statement. "The USITC's final affirmative injury determination adds an additional layer of tariffs that will raise costs for the solar products American companies need to build projects and grow domestic manufacturing." (Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Will Dunham) - Reuters
Japan Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
U.S. clears way for tariffs on $13 billion of solar imports
U.S. duties on solar equipment from four Southeast Asian countries are set to take effect following a government agency's conclusion the imports harm domestic manufacturers. With a unanimous vote Tuesday, the U.S. International Trade Commission said it concluded imported solar cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam injure the domestic industry. The determination was a key final threshold for duties to take full effect, setting the stage for collections in June. The decision is a victory for manufacturers operating in the U.S. Companies including Hanwha Q Cells and First Solar have blamed a surge of discounted imports from Southeast Asia for making it difficult to build and sell equipment domestically, even with tax incentives meant to help drive U.S. manufacturing of advanced energy technology. First Solar shares gained as much as 4.8% after the decision. "These are decisive victories for domestic manufacturing,' Tim Brightbill, cochair of Wiley's international trade practice and lead counsel for the coalition of solar companies that pursued the case, said during a conference call. Unlike widespread tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, these duties are the result of a trade probe lasting more than a year that found imported solar equipment from the targeted countries is unfairly priced and subsidized, to the disadvantage of manufacturers in the U.S. The fees will raise the cost of solar equipment from Southeast Asia and will be a drag on renewable developers in the U.S. that depend heavily on imports from the region. The U.S. imported $12.9 billion in solar equipment last year from the four nations, accounting for nearly 80% of total shipments, according to BloombergNEF. However, domestic manufacturers downplayed the potential impact of those higher costs. Other factors are playing a bigger role in developer budgets — including the cost of labor and the challenge connecting projects to the grid — even as panel prices have come down significantly, said Mike Carr, executive director of the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America Coalition. "The cost of equipment is very low,' Carr said. "It's such a small percentage of the overall project cost.' Demand will continue to grow and domestic manufacturers are now on track to have enough cell and module production capacity to supply the entire U.S. industry by 2026, Carr said. Nevertheless, while solar now is a leading source of U.S. power-capacity installations, the duties add to other policy and supply headwinds complicating the potential for future growth. Congressional Republicans have moved to scale back key federal support, and the industry faces the prospect of further tariffs against imported solar. The duties, effectively calculated last month by the Commerce Department, are set to reach as high as 3,521% for some manufacturers in Cambodia, reflecting the country's decision to stop participating in the U.S. investigation. However, rates for other countries and companies are set to be far lower. The average duty was 396% for Vietnam, 375% for Thailand and 34% for Malaysia. The U.S. Commerce Department set the rates in April after the lengthy probe that found some solar manufacturers in the four countries were unfairly benefiting from government subsidies and selling exports to the U.S. at rates lower than the cost of production. JinkoSolar was assessed duties of about 245% for exports from Vietnam and 40% for exports from Malaysia. Trina Solar in Thailand faces levies of 375% and more than 200% from Vietnam. JA Solar modules from Vietnam could be assessed at about 120%.
New Straits Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
US targets Malaysia, neighbours as influx of cheap solar panels sparks tariff row
WASHINGTON: The US International Trade Commission determined on Tuesday that domestic solar panel makers were materially harmed or threatened by a flood of cheap imports from four Southeast Asian nations, bringing the United States a step closer to imposing stiff duties on those goods. The "yes" vote by the three-member ITC means the Commerce Department will issue orders to enforce countervailing and anti-dumping tariffs on solar products imported from Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam that the agency finalized last month. The vote resolves a year-old trade case in which American manufacturers accused Chinese companies of flooding the market with unfairly cheap goods from factories in Southeast Asia. Since that time, President Donald Trump has pursued a broad strategy to impose tariffs on imported products to protect manufacturers of US-made goods. The Commerce Department cannot impose tariffs unless the ITC finds that the domestic industry was harmed or threatened by overseas rivals receiving unfair subsidies and dumping products in the US market. The outcome of the vote was posted in a brief notice on the ITC's web site. It was not immediately clear how each commissioner voted. The trade 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 U.S. solar manufacturing. "(Tuesday's) vote leaves no doubt: these Chinese-headquartered companies have been violating trade laws by overwhelming the US market with unfairly cheap, dumped and subsidized solar panels - and they continue to do so from third-party markets around the world, undermining US industrial strategy and stunting new investment," Tim Brightbill, the lead attorney for the petitioning group, the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, said in a statement. "This cannot stand. Our growing American industry deserves - and now will have - the chance to compete fairly," Brightbill said. The vast majority of panels installed in the United States are imported from Asia. In 2022, former President Joe Biden's signature climate change law, the Inflation Reduction Act, created a tax credit for clean energy manufacturing, and more than 100 solar factories have been announced or expanded since then, according to the American Clean Power Association trade group. A top US solar trade group, the Solar Energy Industries Association, said new tariffs would actually harm domestic producers by increasing costs for panel buyers. "(Tuesday's) decision by the US International Trade Commission is concerning for American solar manufacturers and the broader US solar industry," SEIA President Abigail Ross Hopper said in a statement. "The USITC's final affirmative injury determination adds an additional layer of tariffs that will raise costs for the solar products American companies need to build projects and grow domestic manufacturing."
West Australian
23-04-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Donald Trump news: US plans to impose 3521 per cent tariffs on solar panel imports on Asian countries
The US Commerce Department has announced tariffs of up to 3521 per cent on solar panel imports from Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam, following a year-long investigation into alleged Chinese subsidies and price dumping. The proposed levies target Chinese-backed firms operating in South East Asia, with duties varying by company and country. Cambodian exporters face the steepest rates (3,521 per cent) for non-cooperation with the probe, while Malaysia's Jinko Solar and Thailand's Trina Solar face 41 per cent and 375 per cent tariffs, respectively. The American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, which petitioned for the investigation, hailed the move. 'This is a decisive victory for American manufacturing and confirms what we've long known: that Chinese-headquartered solar companies have been cheating the system,' said Tim Brightbill, the group's lead counsel. The tariffs, if finalised by the International Trade Commission in June, would add to existing Trump tariffs. The US President has already imposed taxes of up to 145 per cent on imports from China, while most countries like Australia are now facing a blanket US tariff of 10 per cent until July. The announcement follows Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent tour of South East Asia, where he urged nations to resist 'unilateral bullying' by the US. In 2023, the US imported $US12 billion dollars (18.8 billion AUD) in solar equipment from the four countries. The planned 3521 per cent tariffs are set to benefit US solar panel makers but could also mean extra costs for businesses and customers who have benefited from cheaper solar panels that have been imported.
Perth Now
23-04-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Trump set to slap massive 3521 per cent tariffs on Asia
The US Commerce Department has announced tariffs of up to 3521 per cent on solar panel imports from Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam, following a year-long investigation into alleged Chinese subsidies and price dumping. The proposed levies target Chinese-backed firms operating in South East Asia, with duties varying by company and country. Cambodian exporters face the steepest rates (3,521 per cent) for non-cooperation with the probe, while Malaysia's Jinko Solar and Thailand's Trina Solar face 41 per cent and 375 per cent tariffs, respectively. The American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, which petitioned for the investigation, hailed the move. 'This is a decisive victory for American manufacturing and confirms what we've long known: that Chinese-headquartered solar companies have been cheating the system,' said Tim Brightbill, the group's lead counsel. The tariffs, if finalised by the International Trade Commission in June, would add to existing Trump tariffs. The US President has already imposed taxes of up to 145 per cent on imports from China, while most countries like Australia are now facing a blanket US tariff of 10 per cent until July. The announcement follows Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent tour of South East Asia, where he urged nations to resist 'unilateral bullying' by the US. In 2023, the US imported $US12 billion dollars (18.8 billion AUD) in solar equipment from the four countries. The planned 3521 per cent tariffs are set to benefit US solar panel makers but could also mean extra costs for businesses and customers who have benefited from cheaper solar panels that have been imported.
