The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday announced anti-subsidy countervailing duties on solar cells imported by companies from Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand.
According to a preliminary decision posted on Commerce's website, the agency calculated tariff rates of between 0.14% and 3,293.61%, depending on the company, on solar cells from the four Southeast Asian nations.
A final decision will be made next year.
The announcement is the first of two preliminary decisions the Commerce Department will make this year in a trade case brought by Korea's Hanwha Qcells (000880.KS), Arizona-based First Solar (FSLR.O) and several smaller companies seeking to protect billions of dollars in investments in U.S. solar manufacturing.
According to the agency, Commerce Department officials calculated general subsidy rates of 9.13% for imports from Malaysia, 8.25% for imports from Cambodia, 23.06% for imports from Thailand and 2.85% for imports from Vietnam.
Large manufacturers have their own separate duty rates. For instance, Commerce calculated a duty rate of just 0.14% for products made by China's Trina Solar in Thailand.
Commerce calculated a duty rate of 14.72% for products produced in Malaysia by one of the companies behind the petition, Hanwha Qcells.
