The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday announced countervailing duties on solar cells and panels imported by companies in India, Indonesia and Laos in an effort to counteract subsidies supporting the Asian industries.
With the decision, U.S. trade officials sided with domestic solar factory owners in finding that companies operating in the three countries received government subsidies that make American products uncompetitive. It is the latest in a string of duties imposed over a decade on cheap solar imports from Asia, which are primarily made by Chinese companies.
According to a fact sheet posted on the Commerce Department’s website, the agency calculated general subsidy rates of 125.87% for imports from India, 104.38% for imports from Indonesia, and 80.67% for imports from Laos.
The three nations last year accounted for $4.5 billion in solar imports, about two-thirds of the 2025 total, according to government trade data. U.S. tariffs have a track record of disrupting global solar trade. Imports from Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia plummeted due to a trade case that resulted in steep tariffs finalized last year on imports from those nations, which had dominated the U.S. market.
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