CBP Suspends Liquidation of Solar Cells, Bifacial Panels Subject to Safeguard Duties

CBP will suspend liquidation for entries of solar cells subject to Section 201 safeguard duties over the past 10-15 months, following to a Court of International Trade decision that invalidated a Trump-era increase in safeguard duty rates on solar cells and the withdrawal of an exemption for bifacial cells (see 2111170038), CBP said in a CSMS message Dec. 28.

Suspension of liquidation will apply to all entries of solar cells under subheadings 9903.45.22 and 9903.45.25 for goods subject to Section 201 safeguard duties entered Feb. 7, 2021, through Feb. 6, 2022. It will also apply to any entries of bifacial solar cells entered Oct. 25, 2020, through Feb. 6, 2022, CBP said. That includes any entries for which a post-summary correction (PSC) has been submitted, CBP said.

Importers entering bifacial solar panels should still “provide documentation to CBP that demonstrates the nature of the merchandise via the Document Imaging Service (DIS), using entry number as the reference,” the agency said.

CIT ordered the suspension of liquidation on Dec. 7, at the request of the Justice Department. The government says it needs time to decide whether to appeal CIT’s decision, and runs the risk of having entries liquidate pursuant to the CIT decision prior to any potentially successful appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to overturn the CIT decision.