Solar manufacturers petition U.S. to impose tariffs on some imports

A coalition of U.S. solar manufacturers on Wednesday petitioned the federal government to impose tariffs on imports from four Southeast Asian nations, alleging that the countries are flooding the U.S. market with cheap products that threaten the domestic industry.

First Solar and six other manufacturers allege that companies in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are dumping solar cells on the U.S. market at prices below the cost of production or are benefiting from subsidies that leave domestic manufacturers unable to compete.

The other six parties to the petition are Convalt Energy, Meyer Burger, Mission Solar, Qcells, REC Silicon and Swift Solar.

The U.S. manufacturers have asked the International Trade Commission to issue a determination that the domestic solar industry has been harmed. They request that the Commerce Department impose tariffs on solar cell imports from the four countries as a remedy.

First Solar shares rose more than 1% on the news.

Companies that would be targeted by investigations launched by the ITC and Commerce Department are primarily headquartered in China. The U.S. manufacturers allege that the Chinese government is providing subsidies through Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative to manufacturers in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

“This petition is not asking for special treatment from the US government,” Tim Brightbill, the lead attorney in the case, told reporters on a call Tuesday. “It is simply asking that our current trade laws be enforced.”

According to a press release issued in August 2023, the Commerce Department determined that Chinese producers are shipping their solar products into the U.S. through Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam to avoid tariffs. President Joe Biden waived the imposition of tariffs on those products until June.

Brightbill told reporters that the vast majority of imports from the Southeast Asian nations would not be covered by tariffs when Biden’s waiver lifts in June because Chinese companies have moved manufacturing out of China and into the four countries.

Tariffs have divided the U.S. solar industry. The manufacturers’ petition to impose duties was met with opposition from the Solar Energy Industries Association, American Clean Power Association, Advanced Energy United, and the American Council on Renewable Energy.

The trade groups said they are “deeply concerned” that the petitions “will lead to further market volatility across the U.S. solar and storage industry and create uncertainty at a time when we need effective solutions that support U.S. solar manufacturers.” They called on the White House to consider alternative solutions to the manufacturers’ concerns.

Array Technologies, a manufacturer of solar tracking technology, said the petitions would hurt jobs and undermine U.S. clean energy goals.

“This case is bad news for clean energy jobs and American solar manufacturing,” Array CEO Kevin Hostetler said in a statement Wednesday. “More duties will only cause uncertainty…