US places new anti-dumping tariffs on Solar panels from 3 countries

Check your next commercial Solar installation estimate. The US International Trade Commission just voted to place anti-dumping and countervailing duties on silicon Solar cells and modules imported from India, Indonesia and Laos. The final decision concludes a 15-month investigation that started when local manufacturers filed a petition last July. Companies had moved operations to those three countries to dodge existing tariffs on other nations, according to the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade. “Today’s vote confirms that US Solar manufacturers and workers have been harmed by dumped and subsidized imports from India, Indonesia and Laos,” said Tim Brightbill, co-chair of Wiley Rein’s International Trade Practice and lead counsel to the alliance. The Department of Commerce will issue final orders on November 2, and Customs and Border Protection will immediately start collecting cash deposits on the imported panels. This decision adds India, Indonesia and Laos to a growing list of countries facing penalties, which already includes China, Taiwan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The government is also looking at potential tariffs on Solar imports from Ethiopia and South Korea. For your business, this means panels sourced from a wider circle of overseas suppliers will carry higher import costs. If you are planning roof panels for your warehouse or shop to cut monthly electric bills, ask your installer where the hardware comes from before you sign the contract.