Japan’s Toyo Solar is reducing its solar panel output at its Vietnam-base affiliate Vietnam Sunergy from 2.5 gigawatts this year to just 1.9 in response to a US trade investigation into solar panels from Vietnam, the company has said in a press release. The company goes on to say that it will wait for preliminary investigation results before making further moves.
Of note, in the past solar panels from several Southeast Asian countries were subjected to antidumping and countervailing duties after the Department of Commerce determined that they were being used to circumvent US trade remedies against Chinese solar exports.
This workaround has become common among Chinese firms in the last few years leading to a significant spike in antidumping investigations into imports from Vietnam. This has sparked renewed interest in seeing Vietnam shed its non-market economy tag in the hopes of securing lower antidumping tariffs. The most recent effort, however, was knocked back in July.
See also: Commerce’s Findings from Vietnam’s Non-Market Economy Review: Unpacked