More Info Needed Before Solar Cell Circumvention Proceeding Can Commence, Commerce Says

The Commerce Department needs more information before it will consider allegations that solar cell imports from Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are circumventing antidumping duties on China, the agency said in a Sept. 29 letter. Penned to Timothy Brightbill, lead counsel for an anonymous group of domestic U.S. solar cell manufacturers that seeks the inquiry, the letter requested a slew of information from the domestic producers to clear threshold concerns, including the full name and address of each member of the anonymous coalition.

The domestic manufacturers go by the name the American Solar Manufacturers Against Chinese Circumvention and filed their anti-circumvention request in August (see 2108250080). A brief filed with Commerce over this request alleges that this is merely a way for these manufacturers to avoid full AD/CVD investigations on solar cells from these three countries (see 2109170058). Further, two U.S importers said that this anti-circumvention proceeding would cover "billions of dollars in trade comprising over half of overall solar cell and module imports into the U.S."

Commerce also requested enough information to make sure it has the grounds to kick off the proceeding. The agency asked Brightbill for evidence that a majority of the petitioning members qualify as interested parties under the law along with descriptions of the operations of each member. Commerce also requested evidence from the domestic manufacturers regarding the allegations that the anonymous member would face "substantial harm" if their names were revealed.

The Solar Energy Industries Association voiced its displeasure that Commerce did not dismiss the petition outright, but added that the requested information would show that the manufacturers "have no case," Reuters reported.