The Trump administration announced steep tariffs on solar imports from four nations in Southeast Asia, with duties as high as 3,500% on the grounds that the nations act as pass-throughs for products being dumped into the global market by China. 

The Department of Commerce unveiled the new tariff rates Monday evening. The rates follow investigations into crystalline photovoltaic cells imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, which found that the countries were receiving subsidies from China. 

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“The Commerce Department is holding China accountable for its transnational subsidies through other countries that harm American industry,” Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said in a statement. “Market-distorting, unfair trade practices against America have no place to hide.”

Lutnick indicated that the tariffs are intended to help boost domestic manufacturing and American competitiveness. However, U.S. solar developers, as opposed to manufacturers, have heavily relied on imports to meet demands, meaning the duties will likely spark more uncertainty for the renewable sector already facing the administration’s ire. 

In 2024, the U.S. imported roughly $12.9 billion worth of solar equipment from the four Asian countries — roughly 77% of all U.S. module imports — according to calculations by BloombergNEF.

The antidumping and countervailing duty investigations began in May 2024, after the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee filed a petition. The trade group insisted that companies in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam were injuring the U.S. solar industry by receiving support from China. 

The group pointed to findings from the Biden administration’s Department of Commerce, which determined in 2023 that Chinese solar manufacturers were circumventing tariffs on solar exports by shipping products through South Asian countries. 

While former President Joe Biden decided to impose additional tariffs, those duties were delayed for two years. This was intended to continue supporting the domestic solar manufacturing industry, while giving the countries time to shift their supply chains away from China. 

The trade organization said that Chinese companies in these countries were still dumping solar cells and panels in the United States at unfairly low prices. 

The new tariffs announced Monday vary depending on the company and country. Cambodia saw the highest tariffs, approximately 3,521%, as it did not participate in the investigation. 

Jinko Solar products from Malaysia are set to see some of the lowest tariffs announced, with rates around 41.56%. Other modules from Vietnam and Thailand are facing rates between 120% and 400% 

The American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee celebrated the news on Monday, with attorney Tim Brightbill calling it “very strong results.”

“We are confident that they will address the unfair trade practices of the Chinese-owned companies in these four countries, which have been injuring the U.S. solar manufacturing industry for far too long,” Brightbill said, according to CNN. 

The rates must be approved by the International Trade Commission before they can go into effect. The agency is expected to make its decision by June 2. 

With rates that high, it will become increasingly difficult for U.S. solar developers to justify the high costs of imports from Southeast Asia. As a result, other exporting countries such as India may see some benefits. 

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Deepesh Nanda, president of the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association, told Bloomberg that India is in a good position to support U.S. solar markets at a more affordable rate while also complying with government standards.  

As India relies heavily on China for its machinery and other upstream products, escalating trade tensions could cause Beijing to reorganize its supply chain.