A two-year U.S. tariff holiday on solar panels from Southeast Asia expires on Thursday, starting the clock ticking for American project developers to use the huge amount of equipment they stockpiled duty-free over that period by the end of this year.

A two-year U.S. tariff holiday on solar panels from Southeast Asia expires on Thursday, starting the clock ticking for American project developers to use the huge amount of equipment they stockpiled duty-free over that period by the end of this year.

Tariffs aimed at protecting America’s solar industry from foreign competition snapped back into place on Thursday, ending a two-year pause that President Biden approved as part of his effort to jump-start solar adoption in the U.S.

The Inflation Reduction Act gave new life to America’s ability to innovate and manufacture solar components, so we can quickly, sustainably and reliably deploy solar at the scale needed to address the climate crisis.

In June, new tariffs will hit solar panels and cells from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam after the Biden administration exempted those countries from fees two years ago. The shift could be significant for the market, as the four Southeast Asian nations currently dominate solar imports.

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.

“We are seeking to enforce the rules, remedy the injury to our domestic solar industry, and signal that the U.S. will not be a dumping ground for foreign solar products.”