The decision, announced Monday by the US Commerce Department, follows a yearlong investigation triggered by domestic solar manufacturers who accused foreign competitors of undercutting them through unfair subsidies and below-cost exports. The steepest penalty—3,521%—was assigned to Cambodia, which withdrew from the investigation.
The probe, launched during former President Joe Biden’s tenure, found that solar firms in the four Southeast Asian nations were benefiting from Chinese subsidies and selling at dumped prices. These countries accounted for roughly $12.9 billion in solar equipment imports to the US last year—about 77% of all such imports.
While hailed as a “decisive victory for American manufacturing” by trade attorney Tim Brightbill, the move poses a major challenge to US solar developers reliant on affordable foreign supply. The antidumping and countervailing duties come on top of previous tariff regimes and signal a deeper effort to secure the domestic solar industry amid ongoing policy shifts in Washington.
Key beneficiaries of the new duties include US-based producers like First Solar Inc. and Hanwha Q Cells, who have long complained of unfair pricing pressures. Many companies welcomed the tariffs as protection against market distortion, particularly in light of the Inflation Reduction Act, which is driving fresh investment into US solar manufacturing.
Notable company-specific tariffs include:
Jinko Solar: ~245% from Vietnam, 40% from Malaysia
Trina Solar: ~375% from Thailand, over 200% from Vietnam
JA Solar: ~120% from Vietnam
Chinese solar stock movements remained minimal, as the tariffs were largely anticipated. Many firms have already begun shifting operations to tariff-free zones such as Indonesia and Laos. Indonesia, in particular, is expected to ramp up to over 20 GW of solar manufacturing capacity by mid-2025.
JA Solar, one of the major exporters affected, announced plans to open a large-scale plant in Oman by the end of 2025, as part of its globalization strategy. The facility will feature a 6 GW cell and 3 GW module capacity.
The final impact of the duties will depend on a separate ruling by the US International Trade Commission, expected next month, which will determine if domestic producers have indeed been harmed or are at risk from these imports.
