NEW YORK — Eight solar power product manufacturers operating in the U.S. petitioned the Commerce Department on Tuesday to investigate whether solar panels imported from Ethiopia evade American antidumping duties placed on Chinese components.
The group’s request alleges that manufacturers are using Ethiopia to ship the clean energy products — made using Chinese parts with minimal manufacturing by two companies in East Africa — to the U.S.
Chinese-origin parts of a solar panel and cell are subject to 50% duties when shipped into the U.S. Washington has placed antidumping and countervailing levies as high as 3,521% on Chinese producers exporting those goods from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Various U.S. tariffs have been imposed over a decade on solar imports found to benefit from unfair pricing by foreign companies as well as unfair government subsidies to foreign companies.