The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) launched an attack against an effort by a group of companies that asked the U.S. Department of Commerce to consider imposing tariffs on solar equipment imported to the U.S. from three southeast Asian countries.
In mid-August, a trio of petitions filed by the American Solar Manufacturers Against Chinese Circumvention asked the Commerce Department to impose antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on a handful of producers of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules that are imported from Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
In a news conference on September 27, SEIA said that the petitions should be dismissed on their merits. More broadly, the industry trade group said that the tariffs would cripple the U.S. solar industry and impact the country’s plans to tackle climate change. The group said that almost 80% of all solar modules are imported from the countries, which include Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
George Hershman, president and general manager of Swinerton Renewable Energy said that 90-95% of the modules that his company plans to import could be impacted. And he said that “100%” of the 7.5 GW of projects his company has in the pipeline for this year and next is at risk.
