- US Preliminary announces conclusion on import taxes.
- The preliminary findings revealed that four companies are attempting to avoid paying US import taxes.
In a solar circumvention case, the US Department of Commerce announced its preliminary conclusion, concluding that some enterprises in four Southeast Asian nations are evading US import taxes on Chinese solar cells and modules.
Commerce is investigating whether solar products flowing to the US from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam dodge US antidumping and countervailing duties on solar cells and modules from China by using components made in that country.
The US solar maker Auxin Solar Inc. requested the circumvention probe, which was started earlier this year and shut down the solar supply chain. US president Joe Biden announced a 24-month transition period for tariff-free imports from these four Southeast Asian nations in June to ease the US supply chain.
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) voiced dissatisfaction and called the initial decision “a mistake.”
After looking into eight companies from the four nations, Commerce claimed that preliminary findings revealed that four companies are attempting to avoid paying US import taxes by completing minor processing in one of the four nations before exporting to the US. It also stated that it is making a “country-wide” circumvention finding, which means that businesses in these nations would be permitted to attest that they are not evading US tariffs to avoid having the results against them. By May 1, 2023, a decision will hopefully be made.