US says Chinese solar companies are evading tariffs

The US Department of Commerce on Friday said Chinese solar producers are avoiding tariffs by assembling panels for export to America in Southeast Asia.

The preliminary findings are the result of a lengthy investigation into China’s dominance in the solar industry’s supply chain.

This is a blow to the USA. solar installers as it raises the possibility of potential disruptions and more costly imports from a region on which the sector relies for about 80 percent of its supply. American parts manufacturers cheered the result.

Abigail Ross Hopper, head of the Solar Energy Producers Association, called the decision “disappointing” and said it “deprives billions of dollars of US clean energy investment.”

sales department found that Chinese companies operating in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia evaded tariffs by exporting solar products from China for assembly and export from the region to the US. The findings are preliminary, the agency said, and a final decision will be released in May.

The investigation found that BYD Hong Kong in Cambodia, Canadian Solar and Trina in Thailand, and Vina Solar in Vietnam bypassed the tariffs. None of the affected companies immediately responded to requests for comment.

The findings mean Southeast Asian exports will be subject to import tariffs that solar installers say will raise their costs and jeopardize President Joe Biden’s administration’s climate goals. The Commerce Department said companies can avoid these costs by confirming that their operations do not bypass tariffs on Chinese solar panels.

The case underscores the tensions at the heart of the Biden administration’s efforts to protect U.S. industries and jobs, while also fueling the rapid development of clean energy.

U.S. solar energy developers insist domestic supply chain is not enough to procure parts locally and accuse the president of pursuingdysfunctionalclimate policy.

The case was brought by California-based panel maker Auxin Solar, which alleged that Chinese suppliers were guilty of “pervasive covert dumping” that hurt US manufacturers.

Auxin chief executive Mamoon Rashid said on Friday that the investigation “largely confirmed [its] allegations of fraud by China.

However, the tariffs will not take effect immediately. In June, Biden issued an executive order that transferred any new tariffs on imports from those countries within two years after the solar industry warned that the trade dispute was disrupting the sector’s supply chain.

The industry blamed the tariff fight for disrupting panel deliveries and for a sharp drop in new installations compared to last year.

But Michael Stumo, executive director of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, which supports solar producers, said Biden should impose tariffs immediately, calling it “shameless that the White House wants to keep giving Chinese manufacturers permission to illegally violate US trade laws.” .

The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act includes billions of dollars in federal subsidies to companies to set up U.S. solar power production, which the Biden administration hopes will break China’s dominance in the global solar supply chain.

But SEIA’s Hopper said it would take time to establish domestic solar production, and in the meantime, tariffs would hurt the industry.

“Two years is simply not enough time to create manufacturing supply chains that will meet the demand for solar energy in the US. . . This is a mistake that we will have to deal with over the next few years.”

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