Solar panel makers seek retroactive duties, citing import surge
The companies, in a filing disclosed Thursday, have asked the Commerce Department to apply the duties right away, amid a surge in imports from Vietnam and Thailand. An existing trade case already poses the risk of anti-dumping and countervailing duties, but the new filing raises the prospect of duties being imposed even before a final decision in the case.
If imports have surged during a trade investigation, the government can determine that “critical circumstances” exist — a finding that paves the way for such retroactive tariffs. Companies importing panels and cells would need to post cash deposits while awaiting a final decision in the trade case.
The manufacturers cited a 39% increase in imports from Vietnam and a 17% increase from Thailand between April and June 2024, when compared to January through March 2024. Tim Brightbill, partner at Wiley Rein and lead counsel to the petitioners, said China-based companies operating in those countries appeared to accelerate exports after the trade case was filed earlier this year.
The Biden administration has made nurturing a domestic solar supply chain a high priority. Although tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act are driving investments in new US panel- and cell-making factories, some manufacturers argue tariffs are needed to counter a wave of cheap imports undermining those plans. A group of companies united as the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee pushed for the current trade investigation, saying foreign panels were being
