Two of US solar companies have questioned the Biden administration’s decision to delay tariffs on certain panels imported from Southeast Asia until early June.
This move introduces a new risk for the solar industry, which is already dealing with supply-chain challenges.
The challenge, filed in the US Court of International Trade last week, opposes President Biden’s effort to address a trade issue that had been slowing down panel imports from the region.
This development comes after the US Commerce Department found in August that some Chinese solar manufacturers were avoiding anti-dumping and countervailing duties by assembling equipment in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam – key sources of the US solar supply.
Typically, many impacted imports would already be encountering increased duties, but Biden decided to temporarily stop those tariffs for two years.
This move aims to support the growth of domestic renewable energy while companies work on expanding American solar manufacturing capabilities.
Module-maker Auxin Solar Inc. and Concept Clean Energy Inc., a company that produces solar structures, are contesting a Commerce Department regulation.
This regulation prevents the imposition of additional anti-dumping or countervailing duties on solar panels and cells imported from the four countries until June 6.
“Having found that Chinese solar producers also evade US trade measures using third country export platforms, the Biden administration nonetheless turned its back on American solar manufacturing workers,” the companies say in their filing.
“It failed to follow established law and instead provided a tariff-free holiday exclusive to Chinese-linked trade cheats.”
In 2022, when Biden implemented the tariff moratorium, the fear of new duties had caused certain companies to stop shipping, resulting in delays for some US solar projects and the suspension of work on others.
Biden’s decision alone revived the import of panels from Southeast Asia, causing them to reach unprecedented levels last year.
