The Commerce Department is proposing new duties on solar products from Southeast Asia, as part of a preliminary determination that importers are skirting U.S. trade laws.
The department’s three-month investigation sided with U.S. solar manufacturers that say they are being harmed by cheap imports of solar cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The initial determination, released Tuesday, would set duties both for specific companies and for all producers within each country.
A coalition of seven U.S. manufacturers filed a petition in April alleging that companies receiving Chinese subsidies were operating out of Southeast Asia and thereby circumventing U.S. laws against transnational subsidies. The petition also alleged trade dumping activities, which Commerce is addressing through a separate investigation.
The coalition — known as the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee — includes Convalt Energy, First Solar, Hanwha Qcells USA, Mission Solar Energy, Meyer Burger, REC Silicon and Swift Solar.
