The United States is preparing to impose customs from customs up to 3521 % on solar panels imported from Southeast Asia, accusing these countries of serving as a relay for Chinese subsidized industry. The impact could be considerable. Save save Receive alerts photovoltaic panels a thunderclap for the world solar market. On Monday, the US government announced its intention to impose customs duties up to 3,521% on photovoltaic panels imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, reports AFP. Online in sight: nearly $ 12 billion in products imported in 2023, according to the US Ministry of Commerce. At the origin of this decision: a complaint filed in April 2024 by the American alliance for the solar industry, which accuses several Asian unrelated competition companies. According to her, the factories established in these four countries are actually extensions of Chinese groups, benefiting from massive pekin subsidies to flood the American market at broken prices. Read also: Customs rights: Chinese computers and smartphones will ultimately be well taxed, at the rate of 20% of transnational subsidies pointed out after a one -year survey, the International Trade Administration (ITA) concluded that these companies, although set up outside China, indirectly benefited from Chinese public aid, distorting the rules of international trade. It would be one of the first official demonstrations of transnational subsidies with concrete economic effects on the United States. The planned surcharge vary strongly according to companies and countries: Malaysia is targeted on average at 34.41%, while Cambodia could undergo up to 651.85%. Two Cambodian companies, Hounen Solar and Solar Long Pv-Tech, are particularly concerned, with record from 3,521%, more than 35 times the price of their original products. Read also: Hubert Védrine: “With Trump, everything that threatens America must be crushed” rights still suspended from a tax final decision is not yet effective. The International Commerce Commission (ITC) must give its opinion by June 2, by assessing whether these practices have caused significant damage to American industrialists. In the event of validation, the surcharge could be applied immediately, heavily impacting imports. This initiative is part of a larger commercial offensive, initiated under the Trump administration, and has since been prosecuted. Since April, new 10% surcharge has been introduced into the majority of Chinese imports, to which are now added “reciprocal” taxes. Vietnam could thus see some of its products taxed up to 38% additional. To read also: we know what amount was lifted for the inauguration of Donald Trump, and it is colossal towards a strategic decoupling of the solar owner. This decision is looming a strategy of energy reindustrialisation. Washington seeks to relaunch its solar sector and reduce its dependence on China, omnipresent in the entire world photovoltaic supply chain. For Beijing, the stake is just as strategic: the factories installed in Southeast Asia serve as indirect entry points in the Western markets, allowing you to bypass certain commercial restrictions. The current escalation could weaken energy transition projects if it lastingly disrupts logistics chains or explodes prices. It remains to be seen whether the United States will be able to quickly compensate for these supply breaks with sufficient local production, in a context of increasing demand for renewable energy. Read also: Apple is massaging its iPhone in mass to avoid Trump’s customs duties Receive our latest news every day, selecting the main news of the day. (tagstotranslate) Photovolta u00efques (T) Donald Trump (T) Commerce
