The American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, has submitted critical circumstances allegations to the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding solar panels imported from Vietnam and Thailand. This is on the back of a surge in solar imports from the two countries, according to a press release from Wiley Rein which is representing the alliance.
Essentially, the firm is alleging that firms in Vietnam and Thailand have increased the speed at which they export solar cells to the United States in order to avoid possible future antidumping and countervailing duties. This comes after the same law firm requested an investigation earlier this year into some solar imports from Southeast Asia.
If critical circumstances are found to exist this could mean any antidumping duties determination could be applied retroactively.
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 China.
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