Under President Trump’s tariff-happy administration, no industry is being spared. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Commerce finalized hefty tariffs on solar panel cells imported from Southeast Asia in a supposed effort to stop China from cheating.
In a press release, the department stated that the tariffs would target Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The exact percentage varies depending on the country. For example, Malaysian products from Jinko Solar will see tariffs of 41.56 percent, and Trina Solar in Thailand will see 375.19 percent. Cambodia, however, will face duties at a whopping 3,521 percent because it didn’t cooperate with U.S. investigations.
This decision is an update to a case brought last year by the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, which accused China of “dumping” inventory. In short, the group claimed that Chinese companies with factories in Southeast Asia were receiving subsidies from China to ship solar panels below their production cost.
“The Commerce Department is holding China accountable for its transnational subsidies through other countries that harm American industry,” Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. “The Commerce Department continues to enforce our trade laws fully so that we can rebuild U.S. manufacturing and restore American competitiveness. 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 are much higher. In a press release, Tim Brightbill, a lawyer for the Alliance, labeled the new tariffs a “decisive victory” against Chinese manufacturers that are “cheating the system”. He added, “Enforcing our trade laws isn’t just a legal matter—it’s essential to rebuilding our industrial base, securing our energy independence, and protecting American jobs.”
Over the last decade, solar deployments in the U.S. have seen an average growth of 28%. So, it’s not surprising that the industry has been a repeated topic of interest. Funny enough, the previous Trump administration hit imported solar panels with a 30 percent tariff in 2018, which basically nobody liked. The following year, the Solar Energy Industries Association reported that tariffs cost over 62,000 jobs in the U.S. At the time, SEIA president Abigail Ross Hopper said, “This stark data should be the predicate for removing harmful tariffs and allowing solar to fairly compete and continue creating jobs for Americans.”
In June, the International Trade Commission will vote to determine if these tariffs actually go into effect. If so, the solar industry may be at risk again.
