Canadian solar firms sue for exemption from Trump tariffs

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Source: Canadian Solar.

Canadian solar manufacturers will suffer “immediate, severe, and irreversible injuries” as a result of the new US safeguard measures, according to a lawsuit they have filed against the Trump administration.

Silfab, Heliene, Canadian Solar and Canadian Solar Solutions are looking for an exemption from the Section 201 tariffs that will otherwise see exports of their cells and modules subject to 30% tariffs, falling 5% every 12 months.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) found that Canada had not been a major exporter of solar products but did not offer an exemption. When President Trump announced the measures, Suniva, one of the US firms that petitioned for the tariffs, said it was grateful to the president for “closing the threatened Canadian loophole”.

When anti-dumping measures were imposed on Chinese manufacturers by the EU and the US, the companies affected shifted some of their production to Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and others in order to sidestep the duties. There were fears that exempted nations could do the same.

A number of emerging economies have been exempted but can only export 300MW each and no more than 900MW combined in any given year. There was no suggestion from the ITC to exclude Canada and no explanation from the White House for the deviation from the recommendation.

Canada and the US are both parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Under the terms of that trade deal, safeguard measures against fellow members are not permitted if they include a “quantitative restriction”.

In the court filing, the plaintiffs say they expect to sell a negligible volume of modules and cells into the US this year having “imported hundreds of megawatts of cells” in 2017.

They also claim that the low share of imports racked up by Canadian firms was not consequential. The NAFTA agreement lists this as a key consideration when members are looking to apply safeguard measures on one another.

South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, China and the EU have all filed complaints against the tariffs with the World Trade Organisation.

21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

Premium
October 14, 2025
OCI Holdings’ decision this week to buy a Vietnamese solar wafer facility to supply the US solar cell manufacturing industry makes clear the biggest vulnerability facing the sector today.
October 14, 2025
Apple will support 650MW of projects as part of a major expansion of its renewable energy investments in Europe, aimed at reducing its carbon footprint.
Premium
October 13, 2025
Brett Beattie of Castillo Engineering looks at some of the key land grading work that can make multimillion-dollar differences to projects.
October 13, 2025
Korean chemical production firm OCI Holdings has acquired a 65% stake in a Vietnamese solar wafer production plant, intending to export solar wafers to the US.
October 13, 2025
The Trump administration has cancelled the 6.2GW Esmeralda 7 solar project in Nevada – once touted as one of the largest in the world.
October 13, 2025
ANSI has approved a new traceability standard proposed by the SEIA to improve transparency of the solar and storage supply chain.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK