"3,500% Tariff Bomb"... Trump Imposes Anti-Dumping Duties on Southeast Asian Solar Panels

Targeting Chinese Solar Products Exported via Southeast Asia
"Dumping Sales in the U.S. with Subsidies from the Chinese Government"
High Tariffs Expected on Solar Products from Four Southeast Asian Countries

The United States government has announced that it will impose tariffs of up to 3,521% on solar products manufactured by Chinese companies in Southeast Asia and exported to the U.S. This decision is based on the assessment that Chinese companies are exporting solar panels and cells produced in Southeast Asia at dumping prices and are receiving countervailable subsidies from the Chinese government.

According to Reuters and other sources on April 21 (local time), the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its final determination on anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations into solar cells and panels produced in four Southeast Asian countries?Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam?on its website the previous day.

The Department of Commerce stated, "Based on the facts submitted through a transparent investigative process, we have determined that solar cells imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam are being dumped in the U.S. market and that these imports have benefited from countervailable subsidies." The Department added, "In the countervailing duty investigation, we found that companies in these four countries have received subsidies from the Chinese government. This investigation is among the first to reach a definitive conclusion that companies have received state subsidies."

In relation to this, Reuters explained, "These tariffs will apply to exports from JinkoSolar and Trina Solar, which are among the world's largest solar manufacturers based in China." In other words, the Department of Commerce's action is based on the view that Chinese companies operating factories in these four Southeast Asian countries disrupted the market order by selling products in the U.S. at low prices, using subsidies received from the Chinese government.

The tariffs determined in this case vary by company and country. The anti-dumping duty rate reaches up to 271.28%, while the countervailing duty rate is as high as 3,403.96%. Cambodian manufacturers, in particular, were subject to especially high tariffs due to their lack of cooperation with the U.S. investigation. As a result, products from Cambodian companies such as Hounen Solar and Solar Long PV Tech will be subject to a combined tariff rate of 3,521.14%, including an anti-dumping duty of 117.18% and a countervailing duty of 3,403.95%.

This action by the Department of Commerce follows a petition filed in April last year by the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, a coalition of U.S. solar companies, requesting measures against Chinese companies operating factories in Southeast Asia. The organization consists of seven companies, including Hanwha Qcells USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Korea's Hanwha Qcells, and First Solar.

Reuters assessed the Department of Commerce's decision as "an important step in concluding a year-old trade case brought by U.S. manufacturers who argued that foreign competitors were unfairly flooding the market with cheap products." The new tariffs are in addition to the 10% universal levy imposed by Trump on products coming into the U.S. from most trade partners starting in early April. If the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determines in June that there is injury to the domestic industry, these tariffs will be finalized.