Today, Chinese headquartered companies’ global market share in solar products is more than 80% – a near monopoly. Because of the unfair trade practices of these companies, including government subsidies and dumping into the U.S. market, prices in the U.S. are down more than 50 percent in the past year, making it nearly impossible for U.S. manufacturers to compete. In 2023, imports of solar cells and panels from Southeast Asia exceeded $12 billion, and surpassed U.S. installations by nearly 2 to 1. In response, the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee filed a set of antidumping and countervailing duty cases with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission to investigate illegal trade practices by manufacturers with facilities in Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Thailand that are injuring the U.S. solar industry. The Alliance represents the leading manufacturers working to build and re-shore this critical American industry.
Current market conditions are crippling U.S. solar manufacturers, and the future of this cutting-edge industry is at stake. The American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee filed these cases to ensure access to good-paying American manufacturing jobs, clean energy security, and a level playing field for our domestic solar industry. A stable supply and pricing environment will drive deployment with sustainably made American solar panels.
Solar power stands as the most cost-effective source of new electricity generation capacity. In 2023, less than one-third of the 35 GW of new solar panels installed in the U.S. were domestically produced. 2023 concluded with an estimated oversupply of 30 to 40 GW in the United States, with the majority arriving without safeguard measures or tariffs from China via Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. This unchecked influx underscores the precarious state of the U.S. solar manufacturing sector, even with the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act. Unless there are shifts in U.S policy and enforcement of trade laws, persistent subsidization and dumping by these Chinese-headquartered companies will continue to endanger many U.S. solar manufacturers. Achieving a level playing field, one that effectively addresses market distortions and anti-competitive practices, provides U.S. solar manufacturers with a fair chance to compete without impeding the growth of solar deployment.
Solar manufacturing jobs represent a crucial – and growing – component of America's workforce, offering local, family-supporting jobs that contribute to healthy economic growth. Dependence on Chinese imports for the majority of solar deployment poses inherent risks, ultimately harming U.S. solar manufacturers and their employees. A Dartmouth University, Princeton University, and the Blue Green Alliance study found that if U.S. developers were to source 55% of their manufactured solar goods domestically, the industry could support approximately 900,000 jobs by 2035, marking a significant surge from the estimated 34,000 solar manufacturing jobs in the U.S. today.
Transitioning from reliance on foreign oil, particularly from adversarial nations, to dependence on imported goods for electricity generation poses significant national security risks. Achieving energy independence is imperative for both U.S. national security and economic stability. This petition underscores the importance of bolstering domestic solar manufacturing in the U.S. From a negligible presence in global solar cell production in 2004, Chinese companies now dominate virtually every component of a solar panel. This overreliance on an adversarial nation, which has previously weaponized supply chain dependencies, jeopardizes the U.S.'s access to a vital energy source. We cannot afford to overlook this situation, especially as China intensifies its focus on key areas such as solar panels, electric vehicles, and batteries. The solar panel was invented in the U.S. and perfected here. We are seeking to enforce the rules, ensure American clean energy security, safeguard well-paying American jobs, and promote the stability of our domestic solar industry. The future of the U.S. solar industry is at stake, but this is not an extraordinary measure we are taking. We are asking that the U.S. government enforce our own trade laws and make our country secure and prosperous again.
We are seeking to enforce the rules, ensure American clean energy security, safeguard well-paying American jobs, and promote the stability of our domestic solar industry. The future of the U.S. solar industry is at stake, but this is not an extraordinary measure we are taking. We are asking that the U.S. government enforce our own trade laws and make our country secure and prosperous again.
The near-monopoly China has on solar manufacturing presents a significant climate challenge. Chinese solar products have a much higher carbon footprint than the U.S.-produced solar products because they use coal-fired electricity to power their factories. U.S. solar products have a much lower carbon footprint, with factories utilizing lower carbon sources of electricity such as hydropower. The Inflation Reduction Act made historic investments in clean energy and solar development, but with most of the nation’s energy production still coming from fossil fuels, achieving this goal will require the American government to reduce reliance on Chinese companies and protect American jobs, stabilize prices, and foster a strong American solar industry for generations to come.
Stay informed. The future of this cutting-edge industry is at stake for American solar developers & manufacturers alike.
Some of the world’s largest solar equipment makers on Wednesday asked President Joe Biden’s administration to impose tariffs on panels and cells from four Asian countries to protect billions of dollars in investments in U.S. manufacturing.
First Solar and six other manufacturers allege that Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are flooding the U.S. market with cheap solar cells that threaten the domestic industry.
Blaming illegal subsidies in China for artificially lowering the price of panels, Qcells and at least six other U.S. solar manufacturers filed a petition Wednesday urging the federal government to crack down.
Firms warn that China uses its neighbors to skirt existing levies, depressing prices and threatening U.S. investments.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in China on Thursday for five days of meetings in a nation determined to avoid open conflict with the United States, yet the world’s two largest economies still appear to be hashing out the rules on how to compete against each other.
Beijing is set to further increase its manufacturing and installation of solar panels as it seeks to master global markets and wean itself from imports.
