On Dec. 2, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) released its preliminary determinations over the ongoing investigation into whether solar cells and modules imported from certain Southeast Asian countries were circumventing U.S. duties on solar modules manufactured in the People’s Republic of China.

These findings arrive in the wake of a two-year moratorium on tariffs on solar cells and modules imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, as a result of Presidential Proclamation 10414.

The investigation, which began in March 2022, was prompted by allegations made by U.S.-based solar manufacturers against their Chinese competitors, claiming that the accused companies were evading tariffs by selling their products through the four Southeast nations.   

The DOC released its preliminary determinations after a thorough investigation into eight companies based in the four Southeast Asian countries. The DOC preliminarily concluded that four of the eight companies were bypassing U.S. tariffs by exporting Chinese-made solar modules that were only sent to Southeast Asia for minor processing before shipment. The table below summarizes the DOC’s preliminary findings.Continue Reading Commerce Department Releases Preliminary Findings on Chinese Solar Manufacturers’ Alleged Circumvention