The U.S. Department of Commerce yesterday made a significant preliminary determination in its investigation into solar imports from Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand, confirming illegal trade practices through foreign subsidies.
“Today’s announcement is an important early step in a year-long process to determine the amount of illegal government subsidies benefiting these companies,” said Tim Brightbill, partner at Wiley Rein and lead counsel to the petitioners.
The preliminary findings are a major win for American solar manufacturers who have to compete against foreign companies — especially Chinese firms — that engage in predatory and illegal trade activity and are benefitting from massive government subsidies. This ruling includes retroactive countervailing duties (CVD) for companies from Vietnam and Thailand, marking a crucial step toward leveling the playing field for U.S. solar manufacturers.
A Key Win for U.S. Solar Manufacturers
The determination comes as part of a broader trade case led by major American solar producers like Hanwha Qcells and First Solar. They, along with other domestic manufacturers, have been fighting to protect billions of dollars of investment in U.S. solar manufacturing from the predatory trade practices of China’s state-backed solar industry.
These subsidies have allowed Chinese firms operating in Southeast Asia to flood the U.S. market with underpriced solar products, threatening the viability of U.S. companies. Commerce’s findings reaffirm that foreign governments have subsidized solar imports, harming U.S. manufacturers.
300% Tariffs on Some Chinese Manufacturers Operating in Southeast Asia
In response to these findings, Commerce is set to impose nearly 300% tariffs on some Chinese manufacturers operating in Southeast Asia, namely GEP New Energy Vietnam Company Limited, HT Solar Vietnam Limited Company, Shengtian New Energy Vina Co., Ltd., and Vietnam Green Energy Commercial Services Company Ltd.
These companies have been using Southeast Asian countries to circumvent trade laws and flood the U.S. market with subsidized solar products. This ruling marks a positive step forward for efforts to hold China accountable for its illegal trade practices and protecting American industries.
China's Overcapacity and State Subsidies Undermining U.S. Industry
China’s dominance in the solar sector isn’t a story of market-driven success. As the CPA Economics Team has repeatedly warned, China’s overcapacity and reliance on massive state subsidies have severely distorted the global solar market. Chinese companies are producing solar products at artificially low prices, backed by billions in government support from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This allows them to dump products into the U.S. and other markets, driving out competitors who are forced to operate under market conditions distorted by China’s practices.
CPA’s economic analysis shows that China’s solar companies are surviving on CCP subsidies, which continue to prop up their overproduction. This creates a distorted market where American firms struggle to compete, even with significant investments and innovations in the U.S. solar industry.
A recent report from Horizon Advisory is just the latest piece of evidence exposing how China is undermining the U.S. solar industry. The report sheds light on how China’s state-subsidized solar industry is undermining U.S. manufacturing while exploiting billions of dollars in tax credits provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The report details how China has strategically positioned itself to dominate the U.S. and global solar markets through a combination of government subsidies, overproduction, and exploitation of U.S. policy loopholes—most notably, the tax credits created by the IRA.
As first reported by Bloomberg, the report highlights how a “surge of US investment by Chinese solar-panel makers threatens to enhance Beijing’s dominance of the sector.” The report also exposes the lobbying efforts of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), which has consistently advocated for policies that benefit Chinese solar companies, even as U.S. manufacturers struggle to compete.
SEIA: The Pro-China Solar Trade Association
CPA has highlighted many times how SEIA is heavily influenced by Chinese interests and how it has played a central role in maintaining these damaging trade dynamics that directly benefit SEIA’s Chinese members. SEIA has consistently opposed trade cases investigating illegal Chinese activity, and has even laughed off the notion that China engages in illegal tariff evasion.
Despite Commerce finding illegal trade activity again, SEIA once again criticized the investigation. “While we recognize the challenging market landscape for domestic manufacturers in the short term, these cases alone will not solve our macro challenges,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA.
For those of us following the U.S. solar industry, it’s notable that Hopper mentioned “macro challenges” given that SEIA has consistently lobbied to keep loopholes open that benefit Chinese solar producers, allowing them to continue circumventing U.S. trade laws. As revealed by The Guardian, SEIA even deployed a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign to protect Chinese firms from scrutiny, which led to a solar tariff moratorium that allowed these very same companies to flood the U.S. market with cheap, subsidized products.
This helped China further damage the U.S. solar market, despite a Commerce investigation that found that China was guilty of illegal trade activity. Another report found that SEIA failed to disclose its leading members include Chinese-owned companies implicated in illegal tariff evasion and the use of slave labor, and that the SEIA’s “main strategy for the past 10 years has been to lament restrictions on Chinese solar production.”
Looking Ahead: Anti-Dumping Determinations
The preliminary determination is just one part of the broader trade case brought by U.S. solar manufacturers. The next significant step will come later this year, when Commerce is expected to issue anti-dumping determinations. These determinations will address whether solar imports from these countries are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value, further harming American manufacturers.
CPA strongly supports these efforts and calls for continued robust enforcement of U.S. trade laws. As the U.S. transitions to a clean energy future, it is essential that domestic manufacturers are not undercut by foreign companies benefitting from subsidies and overcapacity.
The House’s China “Weak” and Why Congress Must Act
Commerce’s preliminary determination is a critical step in that direction, but much more needs to be done to protect the U.S. solar industry from predatory foreign trade practices.
Congress missed a key opportunity to address this issue during “China Week,” when Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican leadership failed to advance meaningful legislation to close loopholes in U.S. trade law. The IRA, which was intended to bolster U.S. renewable energy, is now being exploited by Chinese firms to set up assembly plants in the U.S. and claim federal tax credits—without relinquishing control over the most profitable parts of the supply chain, which remain in China.
The damage caused by these policies is already visible. Last month, Swiss company Meyer Burger canceled its plans to open a solar-cell production plant in Colorado, citing the uncompetitive environment created by the influx of cheap Chinese solar products. This decision underscores the urgent need for Congress to act swiftly.
Several lawmakers have recognized this threat and are working on bipartisan legislation to prohibit Chinese firms from accessing IRA tax credits. Senators Sherrod Brown, Bill Cassidy, Jon Ossoff, and Rick Scott have introduced a bill aimed at closing these loopholes, while similar legislation has been introduced by Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Carol Miller.
The future of U.S. solar manufacturing—and the well-paying jobs it promises—depends on Congress taking decisive action to stop China’s exploitation of U.S. trade laws and taxpayer dollars. If lawmakers don’t act, the future of solar manufacturing will belong to China, with American companies left on the sidelines.
MADE IN AMERICA.
CPA is the leading national, bipartisan organization exclusively representing domestic producers and workers across many industries and sectors of the U.S. economy.
Commerce Finds Illegal Trade Practices in Solar Investigation, Plans 300% Tariff on Chinese Firms
by NICK IACOVELLA
The U.S. Department of Commerce yesterday made a significant preliminary determination in its investigation into solar imports from Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand, confirming illegal trade practices through foreign subsidies.
“Today’s announcement is an important early step in a year-long process to determine the amount of illegal government subsidies benefiting these companies,” said Tim Brightbill, partner at Wiley Rein and lead counsel to the petitioners.
The preliminary findings are a major win for American solar manufacturers who have to compete against foreign companies — especially Chinese firms — that engage in predatory and illegal trade activity and are benefitting from massive government subsidies. This ruling includes retroactive countervailing duties (CVD) for companies from Vietnam and Thailand, marking a crucial step toward leveling the playing field for U.S. solar manufacturers.
A Key Win for U.S. Solar Manufacturers
The determination comes as part of a broader trade case led by major American solar producers like Hanwha Qcells and First Solar. They, along with other domestic manufacturers, have been fighting to protect billions of dollars of investment in U.S. solar manufacturing from the predatory trade practices of China’s state-backed solar industry.
These subsidies have allowed Chinese firms operating in Southeast Asia to flood the U.S. market with underpriced solar products, threatening the viability of U.S. companies. Commerce’s findings reaffirm that foreign governments have subsidized solar imports, harming U.S. manufacturers.
300% Tariffs on Some Chinese Manufacturers Operating in Southeast Asia
In response to these findings, Commerce is set to impose nearly 300% tariffs on some Chinese manufacturers operating in Southeast Asia, namely GEP New Energy Vietnam Company Limited, HT Solar Vietnam Limited Company, Shengtian New Energy Vina Co., Ltd., and Vietnam Green Energy Commercial Services Company Ltd.
These companies have been using Southeast Asian countries to circumvent trade laws and flood the U.S. market with subsidized solar products. This ruling marks a positive step forward for efforts to hold China accountable for its illegal trade practices and protecting American industries.
China's Overcapacity and State Subsidies Undermining U.S. Industry
China’s dominance in the solar sector isn’t a story of market-driven success. As the CPA Economics Team has repeatedly warned, China’s overcapacity and reliance on massive state subsidies have severely distorted the global solar market. Chinese companies are producing solar products at artificially low prices, backed by billions in government support from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This allows them to dump products into the U.S. and other markets, driving out competitors who are forced to operate under market conditions distorted by China’s practices.
CPA’s economic analysis shows that China’s solar companies are surviving on CCP subsidies, which continue to prop up their overproduction. This creates a distorted market where American firms struggle to compete, even with significant investments and innovations in the U.S. solar industry.
A recent report from Horizon Advisory is just the latest piece of evidence exposing how China is undermining the U.S. solar industry. The report sheds light on how China’s state-subsidized solar industry is undermining U.S. manufacturing while exploiting billions of dollars in tax credits provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The report details how China has strategically positioned itself to dominate the U.S. and global solar markets through a combination of government subsidies, overproduction, and exploitation of U.S. policy loopholes—most notably, the tax credits created by the IRA.
As first reported by Bloomberg, the report highlights how a “surge of US investment by Chinese solar-panel makers threatens to enhance Beijing’s dominance of the sector.” The report also exposes the lobbying efforts of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), which has consistently advocated for policies that benefit Chinese solar companies, even as U.S. manufacturers struggle to compete.
SEIA: The Pro-China Solar Trade Association
CPA has highlighted many times how SEIA is heavily influenced by Chinese interests and how it has played a central role in maintaining these damaging trade dynamics that directly benefit SEIA’s Chinese members. SEIA has consistently opposed trade cases investigating illegal Chinese activity, and has even laughed off the notion that China engages in illegal tariff evasion.
Despite Commerce finding illegal trade activity again, SEIA once again criticized the investigation. “While we recognize the challenging market landscape for domestic manufacturers in the short term, these cases alone will not solve our macro challenges,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA.
For those of us following the U.S. solar industry, it’s notable that Hopper mentioned “macro challenges” given that SEIA has consistently lobbied to keep loopholes open that benefit Chinese solar producers, allowing them to continue circumventing U.S. trade laws. As revealed by The Guardian, SEIA even deployed a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign to protect Chinese firms from scrutiny, which led to a solar tariff moratorium that allowed these very same companies to flood the U.S. market with cheap, subsidized products.
This helped China further damage the U.S. solar market, despite a Commerce investigation that found that China was guilty of illegal trade activity. Another report found that SEIA failed to disclose its leading members include Chinese-owned companies implicated in illegal tariff evasion and the use of slave labor, and that the SEIA’s “main strategy for the past 10 years has been to lament restrictions on Chinese solar production.”
Looking Ahead: Anti-Dumping Determinations
The preliminary determination is just one part of the broader trade case brought by U.S. solar manufacturers. The next significant step will come later this year, when Commerce is expected to issue anti-dumping determinations. These determinations will address whether solar imports from these countries are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value, further harming American manufacturers.
CPA strongly supports these efforts and calls for continued robust enforcement of U.S. trade laws. As the U.S. transitions to a clean energy future, it is essential that domestic manufacturers are not undercut by foreign companies benefitting from subsidies and overcapacity.
The House’s China “Weak” and Why Congress Must Act
Commerce’s preliminary determination is a critical step in that direction, but much more needs to be done to protect the U.S. solar industry from predatory foreign trade practices.
Congress missed a key opportunity to address this issue during “China Week,” when Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican leadership failed to advance meaningful legislation to close loopholes in U.S. trade law. The IRA, which was intended to bolster U.S. renewable energy, is now being exploited by Chinese firms to set up assembly plants in the U.S. and claim federal tax credits—without relinquishing control over the most profitable parts of the supply chain, which remain in China.
The damage caused by these policies is already visible. Last month, Swiss company Meyer Burger canceled its plans to open a solar-cell production plant in Colorado, citing the uncompetitive environment created by the influx of cheap Chinese solar products. This decision underscores the urgent need for Congress to act swiftly.
Several lawmakers have recognized this threat and are working on bipartisan legislation to prohibit Chinese firms from accessing IRA tax credits. Senators Sherrod Brown, Bill Cassidy, Jon Ossoff, and Rick Scott have introduced a bill aimed at closing these loopholes, while similar legislation has been introduced by Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Carol Miller.
The future of U.S. solar manufacturing—and the well-paying jobs it promises—depends on Congress taking decisive action to stop China’s exploitation of U.S. trade laws and taxpayer dollars. If lawmakers don’t act, the future of solar manufacturing will belong to China, with American companies left on the sidelines.
MADE IN AMERICA.
CPA is the leading national, bipartisan organization exclusively representing domestic producers and workers across many industries and sectors of the U.S. economy.
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