On April 24, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) received petitions requesting anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations on solar panel products imported from Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The petitions propose both AD and CVD investigations on the products from all four countries.
1. General Information about the Case
– Products under Investigation: Certain solar panel products classified under HS codes 8501.61.0000, 8507.20.80, 8541.42.0010, and 8541.43.0010;
– Case Numbers: A-552-841 and C-552-842;
– Petitioner: Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing;
– Date of Petition: April 24, 2024;
– Accused Exporters: The petitioner named approximately 60 Vietnamese companies for alleged dumping and subsidies;
– Proposed Period of Investigation for AD/CVD: The year 2023;
– Proposed Period for Injury Investigation: Three years (2021-2023);
– Export Value: According to U.S. customs data, imports from Vietnam were valued at $4.2 billion in 2023, accounting for 26% of total U.S. solar panel imports (the highest among the accused countries).
1.1. Anti-Dumping Allegations:
– Alleged AD Margin: 271.45% for products from Vietnam (highest among the four countries);
– Surrogate Country and Values: Since the U.S. considers Vietnam a non-market economy, the DOC will use surrogate country values for calculating dumping margins. The petitioner suggests Indonesia as the surrogate country due to similar economic development and a significant number of solar panel producers (Indonesia is listed as a surrogate country by the DOC for Vietnam). Comments on the surrogate country are due within 30 days before the DOC’s preliminary determination.
1.2. Countervailing Duty Allegations:
– Alleged Subsidy Programs: The petitioner accuses Vietnamese manufacturers/exporters of benefiting from 31 subsidy programs from the government, causing or threatening significant harm to the U.S. domestic industry. The alleged programs include:
(1) Loan Programs: Preferential loans, export credit guarantees from state-owned banks (Agribank, Vietinbank, Vietcombank, BIDV), investment and export credit programs from the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB), and interest rate support from the State Bank of Vietnam;
(2) Tax Programs: Corporate income tax incentives, new investor incentives, small and medium enterprise incentives, solar project incentives, accelerated depreciation, import duty exemptions for production materials, duty refunds for raw materials for export production, import duty exemptions for industrial zone enterprises and FDI enterprises, and duty exemptions for export processing enterprises;
(3) Land Programs: Land lease/tax or usage fee reductions for encouraged industries, industrial zone enterprises, FDI enterprises, and solar project land incentives;
(4) Grant Programs: Export promotion and investment support grants;
(5) Utility Programs: Provision of utilities (electricity, water) at preferential rates;
(6) Cross-Border Subsidies: Benefits from China’s Belt and Road Initiative and lower-than-normal prices for Chinese inputs. The petitioner requests applying the new cross-border subsidy regulations effective from April 24, 2024.
2. Investigation Procedures:
According to U.S. investigation procedures, two agencies are involved in AD and CVD cases: the DOC investigates dumping and subsidies and oversees the overall investigation, while the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) assesses domestic industry injury. Duties are only imposed if both agencies make affirmative determinations. In CVD cases, both the exporters and the government of the accused country are investigated.
The investigation procedures are as follows:
1. Consultation: The government of the accused country (Vietnam) consults with the DOC on the CVD petition;
2. Review and Initiation: The DOC reviews the petition within 20 days and decides whether to initiate an investigation by May 14, 2024. This period can be extended to 40 days in special cases;
3. Preliminary Injury Determination: The ITC makes a preliminary injury determination within 45 days of the petition. If the ITC finds no injury, the investigation ends;
4. Preliminary Determinations: The DOC issues preliminary AD determination within 140 days and preliminary CVD determination within 65 days of initiation;
5. Final Determinations: The DOC issues final AD/CVD determinations within 75 days of the preliminary determinations;
6. Final Injury Determination: The ITC issues the final injury determination within 45 days of the DOC’s final determination;
7. Duty Orders: The DOC issues AD/CVD orders within 7 days of the final affirmative determinations.
3. Recommendations:
The Trade Remedies Authority advises Vietnamese manufacturers and exporters to:
– Closely monitor the case developments, understand U.S. AD/CVD investigation procedures, and prepare appropriate defense strategies;
– Cooperate fully with the U.S. investigating authorities to avoid adverse inferences or the highest possible AD/CVD margins;
– Register with the DOC’s IA ACCESS portal (https://access.trade.gov/login.aspx) to receive updates and submit relevant documents;
– Regularly coordinate with the Trade Remedies Authority for timely support.
