Longji, Atlas and Tianhe are all on the list! US Ministry of Commerce Announces Final Ruling on Evasion of Photovoltaic Cells and Modules in China

On August 18, the U.S. Ministry of Commerce announced its final ruling on the circumvention investigation of solar cells and modules from China. According to

the US Ministry of Commerce, some Chinese photovoltaic producers ship their solar products through Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and/or Vietnam for small-scale processing to avoid paying anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD).

Specifically, the U.S. Ministry of Commerce investigated the situation of four countries and eight companies, and found that five companies tried to evade U.S. tariffs by completing secondary processing in third countries, while three companies did not evade tariffs. The Ministry of Commerce also found that some unvetted companies were evading regulation.

The companies surveyed are:

Cambodia: BYD Hong Kong, New East Solar (New Oriental Solar);

Malaysia: Hanwha, Jinko Solar;

Thailand: Canadian Solar, Trina Solar;

Vietnam: Boviet Solar, Vina Solar Technology. The final ruling of

the U.S. Ministry of Commerce shows that BYD Hong Kong, New East Solar (New Oriental Solar), Longji Green Energy Holding Company Vina Solar, Atlas, Trina Solar and other enterprises are involved in "anti-circumvention behavior"; South Korean company Hanwha and Chinese companies JinkoSolar and Vietnam Bovelt were not found to have anti-circumvention behavior.

At present, these decisions will not have an immediate impact. According to the presidential announcement issued by the United States on June 6, 2022, any solar modules and cells imported from these four countries will not be subject to tariffs until June 2024, as long as the imported products are consumed in the United States market within six months after the termination of the presidential announcement. Solar modules and batteries imported from the four countries will not be subject to tariffs until June 2024.