Trina Solar, a Chinese solar panel manufacturer is to increase its investment in Vietnam by US$420 million dollars bringing its total investment in the country to US$900 million, Tuoi Tre is reporting.

Of note, solar panels exported from China to the US are subject to antidumping duty (ADD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders. To get around these orders, a number of firms moved production to other parts of Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. Trina Solar was one of these firms. Last year, the ADDs and CVDs applied to Chinese solar panels were extended to Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, however, a two-year moratorium announced by the Biden government would not see these applied until 2024. That said, Trina Solar, says that its poly comes 100 percent from the EU and the US and with its wafers made in Vietnam, it is exempted from the US ADDs and CVDs. Ergo, the increased investment in Vietnam.

Update 20/2/2024: This has now been officially approved.