The U.S. Worldwide Commerce Fee (USITC) and the Dept. of Commerce at this time introduced they may examine claims made by the American Alliance for Photo voltaic Manufacturing Commerce Committee that silicon photo voltaic cells and panels made in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are nonetheless being dumped into the U.S. market at costs that make home producers unable to compete. The committee filed the antidumping/countervailing responsibility (AD/CVD) petition final month.
This would be the second AD/CVD investigation into the exporting practices of photo voltaic cell and panel producers in Southeast Asia. In August 2023, the Commerce Dept. prolonged AD/CVD to Chinese language photo voltaic producers working within the 4 cited international locations. The prolonged Chinese language AD/CVD permits producers that use non-Chinese language wafers or no less than 4 photo voltaic elements (silver paste, aluminum frames, glass, backsheets, EVA sheets, junction bins) made outdoors of China to be exempt from the AD/CVD orders. Chinese language firms working in Southeast Asia have been in a position to alter provide chains fairly simply to remain exempt from the duties. This new investigation will take a look at the continued “unfair commerce practices.”
When the American Alliance for Photo voltaic Manufacturing Commerce Committee first submitted its petition, First Photo voltaic, Mission Photo voltaic, Qcells and Convalt Power had been listed as committee members. Since then, Convalt has been eliminated as a committee member, though it’s nonetheless part of the Alliance, alongside Meyer Burger, REC Silicon and Swift Photo voltaic. The committee is represented by D.C. legislation agency Wiley Rein LLP.
Credit score: NextEra Power
Earlier than the USITC made its choice to provoke one other investigation, it accepted outdoors remark. Solely three entities submitted official feedback: developer NextEra Power and panel producers Canadian Photo voltaic and Illuminate USA (LONGi).
NextEra largely centered on the word that the committee members didn’t signify the home silicon manufacturing business, as a consequence of First Photo voltaic making thin-film panels and Convalt not but producing any product. This seemingly is why Convalt was faraway from the checklist of committee members.
Canadian Photo voltaic singled out Qcells as “primarily a international producer” and “U.S. importer of topic merchandise” and never a consultant of the home business. Each Canadian Photo voltaic and Illuminate additionally acknowledged that Qcells doesn’t produce cells and has to import product no matter nation of origin, subsequently its claims are moot. Whereas Qcells was based in South Korea and manufactures in Malaysia, it’s at present the largest silicon photo voltaic panel producer in the USA, with 5.1 GW of annual capability and rising, and plans to fabricate home cells. In the meantime, Canadian Photo voltaic and LONGi are two of the biggest multinational producers with places in Southeast Asia, which the American Alliance for Photo voltaic Manufacturing Commerce Committee talked about in its rebuttal feedback.
The USITC heard testimony on the case on Might 15. Along with the American Alliance for Photo voltaic Manufacturing Commerce Committee, different individuals included BYD, Canadian Photo voltaic, Illuminate, Trina Photo voltaic and the American Clear Energy Affiliation. The Alliance members principally testified that the oversupply state of affairs in the USA is hurting home manufacturing, whereas all different individuals acknowledged that as a result of there isn’t a home cell manufacturing, importing silicon cells from Southeast Asia is critical.
Now that an investigation has been initiated, the USITC ought to attain a preliminary willpower of fabric harm or menace of fabric harm inside 45 days (seemingly mid-June), with a last willpower anticipated in spring 2025. The Commerce Dept. will then decide the quantity of subsidies and duties to impose.
