WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday announced its intention to impose tariffs of up to 3,521 per cent on solar panels from Southeast Asia, a move aimed at countering alleged Chinese subsidies and dumping in the sector.

The tariffs on companies from Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam will still need to be ratified at a meeting of the International Trade Commission in June.

The decision unveiled on Monday comes after anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations filed around a year ago by several US and other solar manufacturers.

Those companies took aim at “unfair practices” that were said to have weighed on the US domestic solar market, particularly raising concern over Chinese-headquartered companies operating out of the Southeast Asian countries.

While Monday’s move came after a year-long investigation, it follows on the heels of US President Donald Trump launching blistering trade wars through tariffs around the globe.

The Commerce Department’s statement said the new recommended tariffs on solar cells, however, were taking spec­­ific aim at “transnational subsidies.”

“In the CVD investigations involving Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, Commerce found that companies in each country were receiving subsidies from the Government of China,” the statement said, referring to countervailing duty probes.

For the duties to be finalised, the International Trade Comm­ission has until early June to make a final determination.

Products from Cambodia are set to face duties of up to 3,521pc, according to the Commerce Department.

Jinko Solar faced duties of 40pc for exports from Malaysia and around 245pc for goods from Vietnam. Trina Solar in Thailand will see duties of more than 375pc, and more than 200pc for products from Vietnam.

In 2023, the US imported $11.9 billion in solar cells from these countries.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2025