The Commerce Department affirmed new duties on solar imports from four Southeast Asian countries Monday as part of a long-running trade investigation into whether Chinese-owned factories in those countries are circumventing tariffs and dumping products into the United States.
The levies land amid an uncertain environment for the U.S. solar industry as President Donald Trump pursues aggressive tariffs, including on Chinese imports and now-paused tariffs on other countries, and as GOP lawmakers weigh curtailing lucrative tax incentives for clean energy technologies.
The move — the first of two expected final decisions — signals that the probe started under the Biden administration is nearing its conclusion. The new rates, should they take effect, will stack on top of existing tariffs for the solar industry.
A coalition of domestic manufacturers last year alleged that cheap solar panel and cell imports from Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia are being dumped into the United States with the help of unfair government subsidies. Chinese-owned and -controlled companies are operating in the four Southeast Asian countries to avoid existing tariffs on China, the U.S. manufacturers argued.
