All three commissioners on the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted to continue investigating solar cells and panels imported from India, Indonesia and Laos for unfair trade practices.
The Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade requested the antidumping/countervailing duty (AD/CVD) investigation in mid-July. The group, representing American solar manufacturers First Solar, Mission Solar, Qcells and Talon PV, filed the petition after noticing an uptick in solar imports from the three countries once AD/CVD were placed on solar imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The U.S. manufacturers claim that to avoid the Southeast Asian tariffs, global solar manufacturers likely relocated their operations to India, Indonesia and Laos and those countries’ governments subsidized the process.
While panel imports from India have been relatively steady, the data shows that imports from Indonesia and Laos are picking up.
A similar increase in cell imports can also be seen from the three countries.
The original petition requested a look at largely Chinese-owned manufacturers in Laos and Indonesia, as well as general companies headquartered in India. The petitioners have identified dumping margins of 89.65% for Indonesia, up to 249.09% for Laos and 213.96% for India.
The ITC today determined there was a reasonable indication that the U.S. industry is materially injured due to imports from India, Indonesia and Laos. The U.S. Dept. of Commerce is investigating whether those imports are unfairly priced or subsidized and will reveal its preliminary AD amounts around Dec. 24 and its CVD amounts around Oct. 10.
“Today’s ITC decision confirms what our petitions allege: U.S. solar manufacturers are being undercut and harmed by unfairly traded imports. Chinese-owned and other companies in Laos, Indonesia and India are gaming the system with unfair practices that are gutting U.S. jobs and investment,” said Tim Brightbill, lead counsel to the Alliance and partner at Wiley Rein LLP. “Enforcing our trade laws is the only way to stop this race to the bottom. Americans have too much to lose: Billions in new investments in domestic manufacturing facilities, tens of thousands of jobs, and the innovation we need to stay competitive. A strong U.S. solar industry is not optional — it’s how we’ll power AI and data centers, secure our energy independence and keep electricity reliable and affordable for families.”
