Commerce extends review period for Auxin Solar petition despite industry lobbying

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
A PV plant from SOLV Energy, one of more than 200 companies that this week urged Commerce to reject the petition: Image: Brian Doll, SOLV Energy.

The US Department of Commerce has given itself more time to review an anti-circumvention petition from Auxin Solar despite warnings from more than 200 companies that proposed tariffs could cause “catastrophic and unnecessary harm” to the country’s PV sector.

Commerce has extended the review period for the petition from California-based module manufacturer Auxin, which has requested investigations into whether crystalline silicon PV cells and modules assembled in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are circumventing US anti-dumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders on cells and modules from China.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The decision comes after more than 200 solar companies urged Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to reject the petition, which would impose duties that they say would cause the US to lose nearly 14GW of solar deployment and make it “nearly impossible” to meet President Biden’s climate goals.

“The petitioner seeks to game the system by imposing cost-prohibitive duties on its competitors, including its fellow domestic module manufacturers who depend on imported cells from Southeast Asia,” the companies said in a letter sent to Raimondo earlier this week.

The duties, ranging from 50% to 250%, would stall projects and lead to the loss of 45,000 American jobs, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), which said the petition “is based on the false claim that production in the four countries is a ‘minor or insignificant’ process. The reality is that significant work is done in those countries.”

Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are the source of more than 80% of solar imports into the US.

Commerce’s move to extend the review period comes just four months after it rejected another request for investigations into alleged AD/CVD circumvention in Southeast Asia, citing the anonymity of the group behind the petition.

However, that petition – filed in August 2021 – slowed solar deployment in the US as some foreign PV equipment suppliers withheld shipments until business certainty was established, the companies said in their letter to Raimondo. “Many solar projects were delayed, including projects under construction, and many jobs were lost,” they said.

George Hershman, CEO of solar developer and O&M provider SOLV Energy, said Commerce’s decision to extend the review period for the petition “will come at a high cost for the solar industry”, adding: “Every day the threat of tariffs looms, tens of thousands of jobs and countless projects hang in the balance.”

In its filing, Auxin alleges that cell and module assemblers in Southeast Asia use affiliated Chinese input suppliers and a fully integrated Chinese supply chain to circumvent the AD/CVD orders. In a press release published when the petition was announced, Auxin CEO Mamun Rashid said the operations described in its filing represent “textbook circumvention”.

Research published today by SEIA and analyst firm Wood Mackenzie revealed that while solar deployment in the US reached a record high in 2021, utility-scale additions are set to fall this year because of supply chain uncertainty and volatile commodity prices. Their US Solar Market Insight report warned of the significant increase in module prices if additional tariffs are eventually introduced.

Read Next

June 30, 2025
Heliene has completed the sale of Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits in association with Minnesota-based U.S. Bank.
June 30, 2025
Voting on the US tax reconciliation bill is expected to begin in the Senate today, following a draft published on Friday that hit clean energy tax credits hard.
June 25, 2025
First Solar has sold US$311.8 million in tax credits to “a leading financial institution” under the rules set out in the IRA.
June 25, 2025
US EPC contractor SOLV Energy has acquired high-voltage (HV) transmission contractor Arizona-based Spartan Infrastructure.
June 18, 2025
Australia’s minister for climate change and energy, Chris Bowen, has announced plans to streamline the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) to around six months.
June 13, 2025
As our annual PV ModuleTech USA event kicks off in Napa, California next week, “uncertainty” is the watchword for the US solar industry.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico