Following the crackdown on Chinese solar PV imports, US manufacturers have now turned their attention to exporters from India, Laos, and Indonesia. They have filed a fresh antidumping and countervailing (AD/CVD) duties petition with the US Department of Commerce (DOC) and the US International Trade Commission (ITC) for crystalline silicon PV cells, whether or not assembled into modules, from the 3 named countries.
The petition has been filed by The Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade Committee (AASMTC), which includes First Solar, Mission Solar Energy, and Qcells among others, with support from Talon Solar. It alleges that manufacturers from India, Laos, and Indonesia are dumping unfairly priced or subsidized products into the US.
According to a Reuters report, solar imports from the 3 nations combined totaled $1.6 billion in 2024, up from $289 million in 2022. A 2024 IEEFA and JMK Research report claimed that India has the potential to replace Southeast Asian nations to become the leading PV exporting country to the US (see India Can Replace Southeast Asia To Become Leading Solar Modules Exporter To US).
The Alliance argues, “These companies are selling solar products below cost, benefiting from illegal subsidies, and shifting operations to avoid duties imposed in the recently successful trade case against Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.”
They want the government to launch investigations into illegal trade practices by largely Chinese-owned manufacturers operating in Laos and Indonesia, as well as companies headquartered in India. These, says AASMTC, are harming the US solar manufacturing industry by violating trade laws.
AASMTC’s previous AD/CVD petition against solar manufacturers from the 4 Southeast Asian nations of Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia was successful in getting the US government to impose duties as high as 3,000% (see US Solar Imports From Cambodia Hit Hardest With Final AD/CVD Duties).
“The last petition filed on behalf of American solar manufacturers successfully enforced the rule of law and addressed illegally dumped and subsidized solar panels surging into the United States from Southeast Asia,” said the Co-chair of Wiley’s International Trade Practice, and Lead Attorney for the Alliance, Timothy C. Brightbill.
The petitioners have identified dumping margins of 89.65% for Indonesia, between 245.79% to 249.09% for Laos, and 213.96% for India.
Brightbill added, “But the same Chinese-backed companies wasted no time shifting operations to Laos and Indonesia, and companies in India joined in to continue undercutting American producers. We have always said, vigorous enforcement of our trade laws is critical to the success of this industry.”
Within the next 20 days, the DOC is expected to rule if it wants to initiate a formal investigation into the AASMTC petition. Preliminary duties may be imposed within 4 to 6 months from the initiation, with final determinations expected by summer 2026.
Recently, the US government also launched a national security investigation into polysilicon imports under Section 232 (see US Launches National Security Investigation Into Polysilicon Imports).
