The Ministry of Commerce announced this week plans to raise tariffs on East Asian solar panels, claiming that panels in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are receiving Chinese subsidies.
Panels from Cambodia received the highest tariffs as solar panels from that country measure duties at an average rate of 652%, while some Cambodian companies were able to see tariffs as high as 3,500%.
The Vietnam and Thailand panels receive tariffs on average at nearly 400%, while the Malaysian panels only see an average tariff of 34%.
Tariffs on foreign solar panels are like a bipartisan issue. Both Republicans and many Democrats hope that US companies will have an advantage over China.
“The Commerce Department is responsible for China for cross-border subsidies through other countries that harm American industries. There is no place to hide in the unfair trade practices that dominate the market against the United States,” Commerce Secretary Howard Luttonick said in a statement.
However, critics of high solar tariffs say it could impose taxable imports. This could ultimately mean that the grid has less energy and poor climate results.
The plan comes from the International Trade Bureau, but tariffs cannot be imposed until the International Trade Commission, the US Government Commission, determines whether a US company has been injured by imports from abroad. The committee will make that decision in June.
