Donald Trump, President of the United States, has announced sweeping new tariffs on India, stating that solar panel imports into the U.S. will now be subject to duties of 126%.
The move follows findings that India subsidised its solar panel industry at roughly the same rate. Laos and Indonesia were also targeted with import tariffs corresponding to the subsidy levels their governments provide to domestic solar manufacturers.
The tariffs stem from a trade case filed with the United States Department of Commerce by the U.S. solar manufacturing industry.
A fact sheet published on the department’s website shows that U.S. imports of solar panels from India surged from $83.86 million in 2022 to $792.65 million in 2024, amid tighter restrictions on Chinese solar imports and heightened price sensitivity in the market.
Bloomberg reported that India, Indonesia, and Laos together accounted for 57% of all solar panel imports into the United States in the first half of last year, with combined shipments valued at $4.5 billion.
The U.S. solar equipment manufacturing industry has long sought to curb imports of low-cost Asian products. According to Financial Times, Asian solar panels drove global prices down by about 50% within 12 months two years ago, reducing prices to as low as $0.10 per watt.
Although the U.S. solar industry also received subsidies during the previous administration, support levels were far lower by comparison. Pressure from domestic manufacturers previously led to tariffs on Chinese panel exports, just as India was ramping up its own solar production capacity.
“American manufacturers are investing billions of dollars to rebuild domestic capacity and create good-paying jobs. Those investments cannot succeed if unfairly traded imports are allowed to distort the market,” the lead attorney for the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade said, according to Reuters.
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