Electrical Equipment / Components & Telecoms

A group of US solar manufacturers filed a petition to the US Department of Commerce on August 16, accusing Chinese companies of evading anti-dumping and countervailing duties on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules, and calling for the extension of the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties to those outside China. Avoid entities.

This industry organization that claims to be "American solar manufacturers opposed to China's evasive behavior" (A-SMACC is an alliance of several domestic solar manufacturers in the United States) requires the US Department of Commerce to investigate certain solar products imported from companies in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand. .

The organization claims that solar products from these countries are purchased from China and undergo "small-scale processing" to achieve the purpose of evading anti-dumping/countervailing orders. In the petition, the company name information of its organization members has been hidden.

The US International Trade Commission conducted an anti-dumping/countervailing investigation on CSPV batteries imported from China in November 2011, and the Department of Commerce issued an anti-dumping/countervailing order in December 2012. After the review in 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce believed that the abolition of anti-dumping duties would continue to harm the interests of American companies, so it decided to continue to implement anti-dumping/countervailing orders on related solar cell products.

The organization stated that the above-mentioned orders of the US Department of Commerce also apply to batteries "whether assembled into modules or not." Batteries made in China, modules made with Chinese batteries in China, and modules made with Chinese batteries in third countries are all subject to restrictions. For these commands.

The petition also lists some trade data: US solar cells and modules imported from China have fallen sharply after the order is implemented. From 2011 to 2020, the value of Chinese imports has fallen by 86%. At the same time, imports from Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand have risen sharply. In 2020, more than 1.6 billion U.S. dollars worth of products were imported from Vietnam, 2.3 billion U.S. dollars worth of products were imported from Malaysia, and 1.4 billion U.S. dollars worth of products were imported from Thailand. In 2011, they were 1.3 million U.S. dollars, 576 million U.S. dollars and approximately 336,000 U.S. dollars.

A-SMACC argued that the products imported from these countries depend on the input of Chinese origin, and claimed that since the anti-dumping/countervailing order came into effect, China's dominance in the solar energy industry has only increased.

The organization said in a statement: "Although Chinese companies now almost only export from Southeast Asia to the United States, the vast majority of manufacturing, R&D, and capital investment are still in China." In this case, the law is clear; Tariffs on Chinese solar products should be extended to avoid entities. Otherwise, our industry is likely to succumb to monopoly control, our energy security will be at risk, and the Biden government's goal of rebuilding a better clean energy manufacturing industry will be seriously threatened. "

According to the petitioner, China is particularly dominant in the solar wafer market, accounting for 93% of global wafer production in 2018.

In addition to anti-dumping/countervailing orders on Chinese solar products, the United States imposed tariffs on silicon photovoltaic cells and modules in 2018. ITC earlier this month launched an investigation into whether to extend this remedy under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974. The tariffs will expire next year. The investigation was conducted after two US solar manufacturers made requests.

According to a research report published by Roth Capital Partners last week, since the order came into effect, a company has detained more than 100 containers of product components with a total capacity of about 30 to 35 megawatts, but a source at the investment bank said , The actual number may be 2 to 3 times higher than this. According to another trade lawyer, the seized containers came from Chinese manufacturer Jinko Solar, one of the companies accused of evading anti-dumping/countervailing orders.