On April 24, 2024, the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee (the Applicant) officially submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the U.S. International Trade Commission ( ITC ) requesting anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations on imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules, from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam (the Subject Countries).
Case Overview
Products under investigation: Crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules, classified under the following tariff numbers in the United States: 8501.61.0000, 8507.20.80, 8541.42.0010, and 8541.43.0010 (tariff numbers for reference, specific to product description, see attached).
Subject Countries: Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Applicant alleges dumping margins as follows:
Cambodia: 126.07%;
Malaysia: 81.24%;
Thailand: 70.35%;
Vietnam: 271.45%.
Investigation Period (estimated): Anti-dumping: April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024 (for Vietnam, six months, i.e., October 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024).
Countervailing: January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023.
Date | Event | Notes |
April 24, 2024 | Application Submission | ITC automatically dockets, DOC initiates case review. |
May 14, 2024 | DOC and ITC initiate investigations | Within 10 days, preparation of quantity and value questionnaires to be submitted. Companies selected for sampling must submit complete responses to the antidumping/countervailing duty questionnaires within approximately 30 days (extensions may be requested). |
June 8, 2024 | ITC issues preliminary injury determination | |
July 18, 2024 | DOC issues preliminary countervailing duty determination (if not extended) | If critical circumstances are found, countervailing duties may be imposed as early as 90 days before preliminary determination. |
October 1, 2024 | DOC issues preliminary dumping determination (if not extended, may be extended to November 20, 2024) | If critical circumstances are found, dumping duties may be imposed as early as 90 days before preliminary determination. |
December 15, 2024 | DOC issues final dumping and countervailing duty determinations (may be extended to April 9, 2025) | |
January 29, 2025 | ITC issues final injury determination (if DOC's final determination is extended, corresponding extension applies) | |
February 5, 2025 | Formal publication of anti-dumping/countervailing duty orders (approximately 7 days after ITC determination) | In cases of full extension, anti-dumping/countervailing duty orders are expected to be formally issued around mid-June 2025 (if dumping, subsidies, injury, and causality are established). |
Attachment: Product Description of the Subject Products (Sourced from the Applicant's Submission)
Proposed Scope of the Investigations
The merchandise covered by these investigations is crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, andmodules, laminates, and panels, consisting of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not partially or fully assembled into other products, including, but not limited to, modules, laminates, panels and building inte-grated materials.
These investigations cover crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells of thickness equal to or greater than 20 micrometers, having ap/n junction formed by any means, whether or not the cell has undergone other pro- cessing, including, but not limited to, cleaning, etching, coating, and/or addition of materials (including, but not limited to, metallization and conductor patterns) to collect and forward the electricity that is gener-ated by the cell.
Merchandise under consideration may be described at the time of importation as parts for final fin- ished products that are assembled after importation, including, but not limited to, modules, laminates, pan- els, building-integrated modules, building-integrated panels, or other finished goods kits. Such parts that otherwise meet the definition of merchandise under consideration are included in the scope of the investi-gations.
Excluded from the scope of the investigations are thin film photovoltaic products produced from amorphous silicon (a- Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), or copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS). Also ex- cluded from the scope of the investigations are crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, not exceeding 10,000 mm2 in surface area, that are permanently integrated into a consumer good whose function is other than power generation and that consumes the electricity generated by the integrated crystalline silicon photovol- taic cell. Where more than one cell is permanently integrated into a consumer good, the surface area for purposes of this exclusion shall be the total combined surface area of all cells that are integrated into the consumer good.
Additionally, excluded from the scope of the investigations are panels with surface area from 3,450 mm2 to 33,782 mm2 with one black wire and one red wire (each of type 22 AWG or 24 AWG not morethan 206 mm in length when measured from panel extrusion), and not exceeding 2.9 volts, 1.1 amps, and 3.19 watts. For the purposes of this exclusion, no panel shall contain an internal battery or external com-puter peripheral ports.
Also excluded from the scope of the investigations are:
1. Off grid CSPV panels in rigid form with a glass cover, with the following characteristics: (A) a total power output of 100 watts or less per panel; (B) a maximum surface area of 8,000 cm2 per panel; (C) do not include a built-in inverter; (D) must include a permanently connected wire that termi- nates in either an 8 mm male barrel connector, or a two-port rectangular connector with two pins in square housings of different colors; (E) must include visible parallel grid collector metallic wire lines every 1-4 millimeters across each solar cell; and (F) must be in individual retail packaging (for pur- poses of this provision, retail packaging typically includes graphics, the product name, its description and/or features, and foam for transport); and
2. Off grid CSPV panels without a glass cover, with the following characteristics: (A) a total power output of 100 watts or less per panel; (B) a maximum surface area of 8,000 cm2 per panel; (C) do not include a built-in inverter; (D) must include visible parallel grid collector metallic wire lines every 1-4 millimeters across each solar cell; and (E) each panel is 1. permanently integrated into a consumer good; 2. encased in a laminated material without stitching, or 3. has all of the following characteristics: (i) the panel is encased in sewn fabric with visible stitching, (ii) includes a mesh zip- pered storage pocket, and (iii) includes a permanently attached wire that terminates in a female USB-A connector.
In addition, the following CSPV panels are excluded from the scope of the investigations: off grid CSPV panels in rigid form with a glass cover, with each of the following physical characteristics, whether or not assembled into a fully completed off-grid hydropanel whose function is conversion of water vapor into liquid water: (A) a total power output of no more than 80 watts per panel; (B) a sur- face area of less than 5,000 square centimeters (cm2) per panel; (C) do not include a built-in inverter; (D) do not have a frame around the edges of the panel; (E) include a clear glass back panel; and (F)must include a permanently connected wire that terminates in a twoport rectangular connector.
Additionally excluded from the scope of these investigations are off-grid small portable crystal-line silicon photovoltaic panels, with or without a glass cover, with the following characteristics: ( 1) atotal power output of 200 watts or less per panel; (2) a maximum surface area of 16,000 cm2 per pan- el; (3) no built-in inverter; (4) an integrated handle or a handle attached to the package for ease of carry; (5) one or more integrated kickstands for easy installation or angle adjustment; and (6) a wire of not less than 3 meters either permanently connected or attached to the package that terminates in an 8 mm diameter male barrel connector.
Also excluded from the scope of these investigations are off-grid crystalline silicon photovoltaic pan- els in rigid form with a glass cover, with each of the following physical characteristics, whether or not as- sembled into a fully completed off-grid hydropanel whose function is conversion of water vapor into liquid water: (A) a total power output of no more than 180 watts per panel at 155 degrees Celsius; (B) a surface area of less than 16,000 square centimeters (cm2) per panel; (C) include a keep- out area of approximately 1,200 cm2 around the edges of the panel that does not contain solar cells; (D) do not include a built-in in- verter; (E) do not have a frame around the edges of the panel; (F) include a clear glass back panel; (G) must include a permanently connected wire that terminates in a two-port rounded rectangular, sealed connector; (H) include a thermistor installed into the permanently connected wire before the two port connector; and (I) include exposed positive and negative terminals at opposite ends of the panel, not enclosed in a junction box.
Modules, laminates, and panels produced in a third- country from cells produced in a subject country are covered by the investigations; however, modules, laminates, and panels produced in a subject country from cells produced in a third-country are not covered by the investigations.
Also excluded from the scope of these investigations are all products covered by the scope of the anti- dumping and countervailing duty orders on Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assem- bled into Modules, from the People’s Republic of China, 77 Fed. Reg. 73,018 (Dep’t Commerce Dec. 7, 2012) (amended final deter. of sales at less than fair value, and antidumping duty order); and Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, from the People’s Republic of China,77 Fed. Reg. 73,017 (Dep’t Commerce Dec. 7, 2012) (countervailing duty order)
HTS classifications:
Merchandise covered by the investigations is currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff System of the United States ("HTSUS") under subheadings 8501.61.0000, 8507.20.80, 8541.42.0010, and 8541.43.0010.
These HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes; the written description of the scope of the investigations is dispositive.
