US solar equipment makers seek tariffs on panels from 4 Asian countries
Some of the world’s largest solar equipment makers asked United States President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday to impose tariffs on panels and cells from four Asian countries to protect billions of dollars in investments in US manufacturing.
Seven companies — South Korea’s Hanwha Qcells, Switzerland’s Meyer Burger, Norway’s REC Silicon and US companies First Solar Inc, Convalt Energy, Mission Solar and Swift Solar — were behind the petitions filed with the US Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission, they said in a statement.
The American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee
is accusing Chinese companies with factories in Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand of flooding the US market with panels priced below their cost of production.
That had caused prices to collapse by more than 50 per cent, threatening their US-made products, they said.
If the case is successful, companies that import panels to install on rooftops or build largescale solar power plants could face higher prices within months.
The Biden administration has raised the alarm in recent weeks over China’s massive investment in factory capacity for clean energy goods, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the US was evaluating trade remedies.
Biden’s landmark climate change law, the Inflation Reduction Act, includes incentives for companies that produce clean energy equipment in the US.
The petitioning companies are asking the US Commerce Department to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties that would offset the impact of foreign subsidies and ensure the products are priced at fair market value.
The case is expected to last about a year, though tariffs could be levied as soon as Commerce makes a preliminary ruling in about four months for countervailing duties, and six months for anti-dumping duties.