Two-thirds of solar imports came from Asia in 2016, EIA reports
Two-thirds of the solar modules that the United States imported in 2016 came from Malaysia, China, and South Korea, the U.S. Energy Information (EIA) noted in a recent news release.
U.S. solar module imports in direct current (DC) totaled 13 gigawatts (GWDC) in 2016, an increase from 2 GWDC in 2010. The total amount of capacity installed in the United States that year was roughly equivalent to 14 GWDC capacity.
In January 2018, the United States approved tariffs on imported silicon solar cells and modules, which will apply for the next four years. The tariffs will start at 30 percent of the cell or module price and decline annually by 5 percentage points until reaching 15 percent during the fourth year. The first 2.5 GWDC of imported unassembled solar cells are exempt from the tariff each year.
The tariffs are the result of an International Trade Commission (ITC) brought on in May 2017 by two global solar manufacturers headquartered in the United States, Suniva, and SolarWorld.
In 2012, the ITC also issued orders to place duties on photovoltaic (PV) cells manufactured in China. In 2014, the commission established new tariffs for PV cells made in China and Taiwan.
The earlier duties targeted anti-dumping and countervailing in specific countries. After 2014, some manufacturing companies located in China and Taiwan moved their production to other countries not impacted by the anti-dumping duties such as Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, and Germany.
