The solar energy advocacy organization SEIA, together with its co-plaintiffs NextEra Energy, Invenergy Renewables, and EDF Renewables, has successfully filed an application to the US Court of International Trade (CIT) requesting the restoration of the Article 201 tariff exemption imposed by bifacial solar modules on imported solar modules. SEIA began a two-sided exclusion campaign against the new presidential government in February 2021, not necessarily citing any industry-related reasons, but citing various violations of procedural requirements surrounding the trade law itself.

Photo Credit: Billy Ludt/Solar World

Today's decision means that imported double-sided modules are again exempted from Section 201 tariffs, which will take effect immediately. Section 201 tariffs were restored to 15% in the fourth year of this year, and any products imported from the past year under the adjusted 18% tariffs are eligible for interest-bearing refunds.

To recap: Beginning in February 2018, the Trump administration imposed a 30% tariff on imported crystalline silicon cells, modules, and AC/integrated modules as part of the four-year outline. Imported goods will be levied 25% tariffs in 2019, 20% tariffs will be levied in 2020, and 15% tariffs will be levied in 2021. Various tariff exemptions are allowed, mainly small-wattage off-screen boards, but the full amount of bifacial modules was exempted in June 2019. Bifacial modules are becoming more and more popular in the utility-scale solar market. Since no domestic manufacturers can meet the demand, tariff exemption is seen as a breakthrough in the price-sensitive utility market.

After reviewing the report of the International Trade Commission (ITC) and determining that domestic photovoltaic panel manufacturing is increasing, President Trump decided in October 2020 that the double-sided exemption is undermining the original Article 201 safeguard measures (in order to support the US solar Manufacturing), so bifacial modules will lose the exemption in November 2020. Since no tariffs have been imposed on double-sided imported products for more than a year, Trump adjusted the overall tariff rate for the fourth year from 15% to 18%.

Today's CIT decision allows the import of double-sided modules to be exempted from Section 201 tariffs (planned to end in February 2022), and the tariff rate will be restored to 15% this year.

Judge Gary S. Katzmann, who revoked the double-sided exemption in 2020, today issued a decision to put double-sided modules back on the list of exemptions.

“The U.S. International Trade Court’s decision to revoke President Trump’s order to change the Section 201 tariff reduction rate and cancel the exclusion of double-sided modules. This is clearly the correct conclusion. SEIA President and CEO Abigail Rose Hopper ( Abigail Ross Hopper) stated that these two actions are both an illegal attempt to strengthen Section 201 tariffs. “We are committed to establishing a solar manufacturing supply chain in the United States, and we believe that the policies in the “Rebuild Better Act” will help develop American manufacturing. Industry. We look forward to working with the Biden administration and Congress to make these key policies, including Senator John Osoff’s US Solar Manufacturing Act, pass the finish line. "

ITC has been requested to extend Article 201 tariffs for another four years, and discussions are still ongoing. A virtual hearing was held earlier this month, and you can view the testimony here. ITC should make recommendations to President Biden in the next few weeks, and the President will have the final decision on whether to extend tariffs.

Kelly Pickerel has more than ten years of reporting experience in the US solar industry and is currently the editor-in-chief of Solar Power World.

Why can we make them ourselves? If we are committed to saving the world and continuing to use them, now is the best time to feed this industry. We should not spend all this money on the products of our enemies. This will help them kill us! ! !

Why did SEIA not fight the AD/CVD tariffs passed by the Obama administration? Those are more destructive than the Section 201 tariffs? With the implementation of Section 201, the United States continues to install record-breaking solar power.

Agree, the same problem is still the same. WRO and Hoshin’s “labor camps” still cause headaches and delays in the aspects of double-sided panels, jinko, and longii. Now it can be waived, but it will not solve the delay problem.

"Judge Gary S. Katzmann, who revoked the double-sided exemption in 2020, today issued a decision to put the double-sided module back on the list of exemptions."

When "The Power of Existence" began to publicly display the equivalent of the 1960 version of the touring yo-yo, it would be refreshing to see "other" things like "walking the dog" and "shaking the cradle." Due to the current double-sided exemption, people now want to use double-sided solar photovoltaic power generation on the roof of their home, not because it is a special advantage to use double-sided solar photovoltaic power generation on the home roof, but because it will be cheaper to install Better than "Made in America" ​​crystalline solar photovoltaic panels. According to any "new language" in the recently signed infrastructure bill, if solar photovoltaic panels are not "Made in the United States", it is likely that it "will not" list the panels that can be used on the roof and still have tariffs attached. , Thereby pushing up the cost and affecting the overall installation cost. This is not the time for the Three Ring Circus.

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