Under President Trump’s tariff management administration, no industry has been spared. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Commerce finalized high tariffs on solar panel cells imported from Southeast Asia to prevent China from cheating.
The department said in a press release that the tariffs will target Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The exact percentage varies by country. For example, Malaysian products from Jinko Solar will see a 41.56% tariff and Thailand’s Trina Solar will be 375.19%. However, Cambodia will face up to 3,521% of its responsibilities as it does not cooperate with the U.S. survey.
The decision is an update to a case filed last year by the U.S. Solar Manufacturing Trade Commission, which accused China of “dumping” inventory. In short, the group claims that Chinese companies with factories in Southeast Asia are receiving subsidies from China to lower their production costs to solar panels.
“The Ministry of Commerce is holding China accountable for its subsidies for transnationalization,” said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. “The Ministry of Commerce continues to fully enforce our trade laws so that we can rebuild our manufacturing industry and restore the competitiveness of the United States. We must ensure a level playing field for American businesses and workers. ”
Last year, U.S. trade officials announced preliminary tariffs, but these finalized percentages were much higher. In a press release, the league’s attorney Tim Brightbill marked the new tariffs as a “decisive victory” of the “decisive deception system.” He added:Implementing our trade law is not only a legal issue, but also a necessity to rebuild our industrial base, ensure our energy independence and protect our work in the United States. ”
Over the past decade, solar deployments in the United States have increased by an average of 28%. Therefore, it is no surprise that the industry has been a topic of repetitive interest. Interestingly, the previous Trump administration hit imported solar panels with 30% tariffs in 2018, which basically no one liked. The following year, the Solar Industry Association reported that tariffs cost more than 62,000 jobs in the U.S. at that time, and Seia President Abigail Ross Hopper said: “This stark data should be a predicate that eliminates harmful tariffs and allows solar energy to play fairly and continues to create jobs for Americans.”
In June, the International Trade Commission will vote to decide whether the tariffs actually take effect. If so, the solar industry could be in danger again.
