U.S. to consider tariffs on solar panels made in Southeast Asia

March 28 (Reuters) – U.S. commerce officers on Monday mentioned they’ll launch an investigation that would lead to tariffs on photo voltaic panels imported from 4 Southeast Asian nations, a blow to scrub vitality venture builders that depend on low cost imports to maintain prices down.

The Commerce Division’s choice concerning imports from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia was a victory for Auxin Photo voltaic. The San Jose, California-based photo voltaic producer this 12 months requested the probe, arguing that Chinese language producers shifted manufacturing to these nations to keep away from paying U.S. duties in place for almost a decade on Chinese language-made photo voltaic items.

Auxin’s petition is the most recent in a string of efforts by U.S. photo voltaic producers to stem the movement of low cost Asian panels that they argue make their merchandise unable to compete available in the market.

Photo voltaic business commerce teams mentioned the investigation alone would instantly hamstring venture growth and hurt U.S. progress in addressing local weather change. President Joe Biden has set a purpose of weaning the U.S. electrical energy sector off of fossil fuels by 2035, a goal that would propel photo voltaic to provide as much as 40% of the nation’s electrical energy wants – up from 3% at the moment.

Imports from the 4 international locations account for about 80% of the panels anticipated to be put in in the USA this 12 months, in keeping with the American Clear Energy Affiliation business group.

“This choice successfully freezes growth within the U.S. photo voltaic business,” affiliation CEO Heather Zichal mentioned on a convention name with reporters. “Frankly, the Commerce Division’s motion to provoke this investigation is a catastrophe for our business.”

In a press release, a Commerce Division spokesperson mentioned the division would “conduct an open and clear investigation.”

“This inquiry is only a first step – there was no willpower in some way on the deserves, and no extra duties might be imposed presently,” the spokesperson mentioned.

In a memo posted on a Commerce Division web site earlier within the day, officers mentioned Auxin had offered info indicating that photo voltaic corporations working within the 4 international locations are subsidiaries of enormous Chinese language producers and that merchandise made there can be topic to U.S. countervailing and anti-dumping duties if made in China.

“Auxin correctly alleged the weather essential for a circumvention willpower,” the memo mentioned.

The Commerce Division mentioned it can problem a preliminary willpower inside 150 days.

Auxin welcomed the choice.

“We’re grateful Commerce officers acknowledged the necessity to examine this pervasive backdoor dumping and the way it continues to injure American photo voltaic producers,” Auxin Chief Govt Mamun Rashid mentioned in a press release.

U.S. photo voltaic commerce teams lobbied closely towards the Commerce Division taking on the petition. On Monday, they mentioned tasks will now be pressured to resolve whether or not they can transfer ahead given the potential for brand spanking new tariffs that would sharply improve their price. Photo voltaic panels make up about half the price of a large-scale system.

Reporting by Nichola Groom; enhancing by Will Dunham, Jonathan Oatis and Tomasz Janowski

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