iOn April 24, 2024, a coalition of domestic solar module manufacturers filed a petition for the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD Petition) with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) on imported crystalline silicon PV cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The AD/CVD Petition alleges, in part, that the referenced countries are exporting dumped goods from China as evidenced by a significant increase in exports from those countries in recent years. The AD/CVD Petition further alleges these practices are putting domestic manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage. The DoC and ITC have 20 days from the date of the AD/CVD Petition to determine whether it will act on the petition and initiate an investigation into the matter. If an investigation is initiated, a preliminary finding of material injury may be issued by the ITC within 45 days, with DoC preliminary determinations to follow. Final determinations are then likely to be issued in early 2025.
It is difficult to predict how the AD/CVD Petition will affect the market for modules, particularly given the June 6, 2024 expiration of Presidential Proclamation 10414, which suspended antidumping and countervailing duty assessments imposed by the DoC in the August 18, 2023 final determination pursuant to a 2022 petition.
The AD/CVD Petition follows news reports that the Biden administration is expected to remove the trade exclusion for bifacial solar modules from tariff assessment pursuant to Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Both the AD/CVD Petition and the removal of the bifacial tariff exclusion have contributed to module procurement market volatility, and substantially increased the risk of procuring modules internationally. Buyers must carefully negotiate module supply agreement terms and conditions, with performance security and supply chain traceability remaining critical to any negotiation.
