Commerce to Consider AD/CV Duties on Solar Cells From Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam

The Commerce Department will consider an expansion of antidumping and countervailing duties on solar cells from China to include solar cells from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam made from Chinese components, it said in notice released March 28 announcing the beginning of an anti-circumvention inquiry.

Auxin Solar had filed the request for the inquiry, alleging that silicon wafers and other Chinese parts are being shipped to Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, where they undergo minor processing operations prior to export to the U.S. The anti-circumvention statute provides that merchandise completed or assembled in third countries may be subject to AD/CV duties if the process of assembly or completion in the third county is minor or insignificant, among other requirements.

The countrywide anti-circumvention inquiries will cover “solar cells and modules that have been completed in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, or Vietnam, using parts and components from China, that are then subsequently exported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, or Vietnam to the United States.”

Solar importers and industry groups had opposed Auxin’s request, arguing, among other things, that the production processes in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are complex and require a major investment. But Commerce found that, while the question of whether circumvention is actually occurring is still unsettled, Auxin’s petition met the lower bar for initiation of an anti-circumvention inquiry.

The Solar Energy Industries Association said the additional duties Commerce will consider will cause severe harm to the solar industry, in a statement released March 28. “Today’s decision responds to the self-interests of one company and will lead to more market volatility and job losses,” SEIA said. “Additional tariffs will cause the loss of 70,000 American jobs, including 11,000 manufacturing jobs. According to Wood Mackenzie, solar deployment will crater by 16 Gigawatts annually if tariffs are imposed. That’s two-thirds of all the solar energy installed last year. And over the next four years, U.S. carbon emissions will increase by 61 million metric tons.”

Auxin Solar praised the announcement. “For years, Chinese solar producers have refused to fairly price their products in the U.S. and have gone to significant lengths to continue undercutting American manufacturers and workers by establishing circumventing operations in countries not covered by those duties," said Auxin Solar CEO Mamun Rashid. "We are grateful Commerce officials recognized the need to investigate this pervasive backdoor dumping and how it continues to injure American solar producers. Fair trade and enforcement of our trade laws are essential to rebuilding the American solar supply chain and making Solar in America again.”