The Biden administration is expected to approve the reinstatement of U.S. tariffs on bifacial PV modules imported from China and other countries, according to two sources familiar with the White House's plans, as reported by Reuters on April 17. The application comes from South Korea's Hanwha Qcells module manufacturer.
Bifacial modules were initially exempted in June 2019, but the Trump administration withdrew the exclusion in October 2020. In early 2022, President Biden extended the Section 201 tariffs for four years to continue exempting bifacial modules.
It is reported that Hanwha Qcells submitted a formal petition to the U.S. Trade Representative on February 23. The petition is accompanied by letters of support from seven other PV manufacturers that have built factories in the United States: FirstSolar, Heliene, Suniva, Silfab, Crossroads Solar, MissionSolar and AuxinSolar. According to the report, these companies have invested billions of dollars in the United States.
While sources said the White House has not yet made a decision on the timeline for the expected reinstatement of the tariffs, the report has sent shares of solar panel makers such as FirstSolar to new highs in midday trading.
Picture丨On March 18, 2024, Hanwha Qcells solar panels in Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA Source: Dongfang IC
In the petition, Hanwha said this action is needed to preserve many of the new U.S. solar capacity plans released through incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act. "Despite these positive trends, there is growing evidence that negative market conditions caused by the surge in bifacial module imports are prompting several companies to reconsider their investment plans in the United States," the petition said. ”
Source: Reuters
Earlier this year, a group of senators from both parties sent a joint letter to Biden, in which they said, "We urge you to raise and enforce tariffs on these Chinese solar products that threaten the U.S. economy and energy security." He was urged to raise tariffs on Chinese solar panels, arguing that they threaten U.S. economic and energy security.
Reuters pointed out that the PV industry is closely related to the core thesis of Biden's re-election campaign, arguing that his economic policies have tackled climate change while transforming the US energy economy. With the election looming, Biden administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Trade Representative Katherine Tai, have in recent weeks hyped up the "threat" posed by China's "massive investment" in clean energy capacity.
In order to avoid the risk of international policy changes and penetrate into the U.S. photovoltaic market, Chinese photovoltaic companies have become one of the options worth considering.
China's photovoltaic going overseas has reached the test moment of climbing over the hurdles
It is worth noting that bifacial PV modules have become the mainstream technology route in the market, currently accounting for about 98% of imported module products in the United States, mainly used in photovoltaic ground power stations in the United States.
In April 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed a decision on tariff exemptions for solar products from four Southeast Asian countries, which will expire in June 2024, according to U.S. official statistics.
According to previous media reports, if the United States ends the above exemption policy, the solar tariffs of the four Southeast Asian countries may face tariffs of up to 254%. In July 2017, in order to avoid the impact of the "double reversal", Chinese photovoltaic companies actively set up factories abroad, mainly concentrated in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries. Many people believe that this tariff will be substantially implemented, and the production capacity of mainland enterprises in Southeast Asia will also be affected to a certain extent.
In addition, with the resumption of tariffs and the implementation of the "anti-dumping" policy, the supply chain of US modules may be severely hit again, and the supply gap will be opened, and the demand for modules in the US PV market will become more urgent. Against the above background, Chinese PV companies that have deployed module production bases in the United States will benefit, and Chinese PV companies will enter the United States to build factories and become one of the options worth considering. Since 2023, PV companies have shown a trend of collectivity and centralization in building factories in the United States.
The race for new energy manufacturing on a global scale is becoming more and more intense
It is understood that since November 2011, China's photovoltaic products have been subject to 15 trade remedy investigations in the United States, the European Union, India, Australia, Canada, Turkey and other countries and regions. Among them, the United States launched the "anti-dumping" investigation in November 2011 and January 2014, and the "201 investigation" in May 2017.
In response to the US side's practice of encircling China's photovoltaic industry, China has repeatedly responded before. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin has said that the US will engage in trade protectionism, which will disrupt and undermine the stability of international industrial and supply chains and global cooperation on climate change, and will only backfire on itself and harm its own interests. We urge the US to stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies, and China will take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies.
In the past two years, there have been two popular phrases in China's photovoltaic industry: "overcapacity" and "advanced capacity will never be excessive".
In order to maintain a leading position in the fierce new energy manufacturing competition, China's photovoltaic industry is bound to evolve from "Made in China, Sold Globally" to "Made Globally, Sold Globally" while strengthening its own resistance to pressure and risk.