U.S. Imposes Up To 117% CVD on China Solar Cell Producers
The U.S. Department of Commerce or DOC has finalized countervailing duties of up to 117.41% on certain Chinese manufacturers of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules, according to a notice published on Tuesday.
The final results conclude that countervailing subsidies were provided to Chinese producers during the Jan. 1 — Dec. 31, 2022 period of review, in the form of government financial contributions conferred to the manufacturers.
Under the final determination, Yingli Energy (China) Co., Jiangsu Highhope International Group Corp. and Yangzhou Jinghua New Energy Technology Co. were each assigned a 117.41% ad valorem CVD rate.
For non-selected companies under review, the DOC assigned a 9.07% CVD rate calculated based on the 2021 administrative review. These companies include Anji Dasol Solar Energy Science & Technology Co., Shenzhen Sungold Solar Co., Toenergy Technology Hangzhou Co. and several BYD and Trina Solar entities.
DOC said it will instruct the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits at the applicable rates on shipments entered on or after the publication date, with assessment instructions to be issued no earlier than 35 days after publication.
The increased rates are the result of an administrative review, initiated in 2024, into anti-dumping/countervailing duties or AD/CVD tariffs first applied to Chinese solar manufacturers in 2012, according to a U.S. policy source.
Those tariffs were then applied to producers in Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia in 2023 after a probe determined they circumvented the original duties by moving their production facilities out of China.
Trade sources noted that the immediate commercial impact of the ruling is limited, as U.S. imports of Chinese-origin cells and modules have already been constrained by Section 301 tariffs, prior AD/CVD orders and supply chain traceability requirements.
“There are very few U.S. buyers sourcing cells directly from China these days, so the impact on trade flows is not big,” a Chinese cell manufacturer told OPIS.
A number of U.S. procurement and manufacturing sources agreed with this assessment. The policy source, however, clarified that the ruling is “somewhat consequential,” given that the rates apply to countries that were subject to the circumvention probe. At the same time, imports from those countries have slowed significantly since their own AD/CVD probe concluded last spring with steep new tariffs.
The new ruling comes amid an expanding U.S. trade protectionism measures push across the global supply chain, including near-universal ‘reciprocal tariffs’ that Trump applied to most countries last year, citing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Following the probe into Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia, the DOC subsequently initiated another AD/CVD investigation in July 2025 covering imports from Indonesia, Laos and India, further tightening trade flows to the U.S. market for offshore solar manufacturing hubs.
The U.S. also initiated a Section 232 investigation into imported polysilicon in July 2025. Both investigations remain ongoing.
–Reporting by Brian Ng, bng@opisnet.com and Colt Shaw, cshaw@opisnet.com; Editing by Mei-Hwen Wong, mwong@opisnet.com