The Dept. of Commerce was scheduled to launch its preliminary antidumping/countervailing responsibility (AD/CVD) tariff quantities for Indian, Indonesian and Laotian photo voltaic cell and panel imports earlier than the tip of 2025. The U.S. Worldwide Commerce Fee (ITC) determined in August that the U.S. trade has been materially injured by imports from the three international locations, and Commerce was to announce its tariff quantities by December. However the 43-day authorities shutdown in October and November pushed again investigation timelines.
Now the unique petitioner for the AD/CVD investigation, the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, is asking the Dept. of Commerce to postpone its preliminary AD willpower even additional — by one other 50 days. The Alliance, represented by Tim Brightbill and Wiley Rein LLP, mentioned the extension is important as a result of “these investigations cowl photo voltaic cells and modules from a number of international locations, and thus require a big quantity of assets to completely examine. Second, there are nonetheless quite a few excellent supplemental questionnaires, and the division will seemingly must challenge further rounds of questionnaires prior to creating its preliminary willpower.”
This might push the preliminary AD willpower launch to April 21, 2026. There doesn’t seem like an extension requested for the CVD willpower, and that will nonetheless be launched round Feb. 20.
American panel producers first requested the investigation in July 2025, alleging that photo voltaic panel producers had relocated their operations to India, Indonesia and Laos to keep away from tariffs positioned on imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Whereas cell and panel imports from India have been comparatively regular over the past two years, the information reveals that imports from Indonesia and Laos have elevated an excellent deal since 2024.
As soon as the ITC decided that U.S. photo voltaic panel producers had been being harmed by imports from India, Indonesia and Laos, the Dept. of Commerce started its personal investigation to find out tariff quantities in response.
Important circumstances allegation
The Alliance, which incorporates First Photo voltaic, Mission Photo voltaic, Qcells and Talon PV, escalated efforts on Jan. 26 when submitting a “crucial circumstances” allegation with the Sec. of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
The doc says that imports from India, Indonesia and Laos have surged, exercise that “strongly signifies that these imports are being rushed into the USA in an effort to keep away from the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties.” A big soar in each panel and cell imports from Indonesia might be seen within the above graphs.
The Alliance is asking the Dept. of Commerce to expedite a critical-circumstances determination as quickly as doable and “definitely” by the preliminary CVD willpower date of Feb. 20. A critical-circumstances willpower would impose duties retroactively on imports entered as much as 90 days earlier than the tariffs are introduced. That would put retroactive tariffs on the two.4 GW of photo voltaic panels and 1.4 GW of cells from Indonesia that entered the USA in November 2025, along with the photo voltaic imports from India and Laos.
In the course of the 2024 AD/CVD investigation into photo voltaic imports from Southeast Asia, the Alliance additionally filed a critical circumstances allegation after seeing a rise in imports from Vietnam and Thailand. Commerce agreed with the Alliance then and ordered retroactive duties on all cells and panels imported from Vietnam and Thailand (besides from JA Photo voltaic and JinkoSolar).
The photo voltaic trade ought to have a clearer image on the tariffs for photo voltaic imports from India, Indonesia and Laos within the subsequent few months.
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