A new group called American Solar Manufacturers Against Chinese Circumvention (A-SMACC), represented by DC Wiley Law Firm, filed a petition with the Ministry of Commerce, asking it to investigate Chinese silicon solar panel manufacturing companies working in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam to avoid anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD / CV) .
AD / CV duties have been in place against Chinese solar power manufacturers since 2012. Any import of silicon solar cells from China comes with an additional tax from the Ministry of Commerce. Some Chinese companies, in a possible attempt to avoid paying the tax, have moved part of their manufacturing capacity to other countries in Southeast Asia.
This latest petition calls for a more in-depth examination of the specific companies operating in the three countries mentioned:
- Malaysia: JinkoSolar, LONGi (and affiliates), JA Solar
- Thailand: Canadian Solar, Trina Solar, Talesun Solar, Astroenergy
- Vietnam: Trina Solar, Canadian Solar, Sunergy, Boviet Solar, GCL, LONGi (and subsidiaries), JinkoSolar
A-SMACC issued a statement via Wiley:
While Chinese companies now export almost exclusively to the United States from Southeast Asia, the vast majority of manufacturing, research and development, and capital investment remain in China. In cases like this, the law is clear; Chinese solar rights should be extended to bypass entities. Otherwise, it is likely that our industry will succumb to monopoly control, our energy security will be threatened, and the Biden administration’s goal of rebuilding better with clean energy manufacturing will be seriously threatened.
The companies involved in A-SMACC and the petition have chosen to remain anonymous. The petition has not yet been made public by the Ministry of Commerce.
Industry and trade group SEIA sent a message to its members that the group would “vigorously oppose” a rights assessment.
“While we are still assessing the potential impact of these petitions, the disruption in the US solar market could be serious,” SEIA CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said in an email.
Learn more about the decade-long solar tariff battle between the United States and China here.
