U.S. solar manufacturers filed a set of petitions on Thursday asking for steep new duties on solar cells and panels imported from India, Laos and Indonesia, hoping to build on a previous victory in a case against four Southeast Asian countries.
“The U.S. solar manufacturing industry is at another critical point in its development,” Timothy Brightbill, lead attorney for the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, told POLITICO. “We’re building a solar supply chain here in America, and can’t let it be taken away by unfair trade practices.”
The alliance includes U.S. solar manufacturers First Solar, Mission Solar Energy and Qcells, with support from a fourth company, Talon PV Solar Solutions. Their petitions accuse producers in the three countries of receiving government subsidies and selling in the United States at less than fair market prices.
The group is asking for anti-dumping duties of nearly 90 percent on Indonesia, 214 percent on India and close to 250 percent on Laos to level the playing field, as well as additional unspecified countervailing duties to offset the alleged subsidies.
