US to probe tariff-dodging claim against Asian solar manufacturers

The United States has announced a probe into solar panels imported from four Southeast Asian nations for potential circumvention of tariffs.

The move comes after US President Joe Biden extended Trump-era tariffs on solar cells with some exemptions, The Hill reported.

California company Auxin Solar alleged the panels in question, assembled in Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, were intended to evade US regulations blocking Chinese imports.

The US Commerce Department said that it will respond to a petition from Auxin Solar.

According to the petition, the technology assembled in these countries involves parts manufactured by Chinese companies, and their manufacture violates US antidumping and countervailing tariffs on Chinese imports.

"This misstep will have a devastating impact on the U.S. solar market at a time when solar prices are climbing, and project delays and cancellations are adding up," Solar Energy Industry Association President Abigail Ross Hopper said in a statement.

"The solar industry is still reeling from a similar tariff petition that surfaced last year. The mere threat of tariffs altered the industry's growth trajectory and is one of the reasons why we're now expecting a 19% decline in near-term solar forecasts. Taking up this case will have a chilling effect on the solar industry."

Auxin CEO Mamun Rashid told The Hill, "For years, Chinese solar producers have refused to fairly price their products in the U.S. and have gone to significant lengths to continue undercutting American manufacturers and workers by establishing circumventing operations in countries not covered by those duties.

"We are grateful Commerce officials recognized the need to investigate this pervasive backdoor dumping and how it continues to injure American solar producers. Fair trade and enforcement of our trade laws are essential to rebuilding the American solar supply chain and making Solar in America again," Rashid said in a statement.

( With inputs from ANI )

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