The final ruling largely adopts the rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce in May 2023 with minor revisions, aiming to "enhance, improve and strengthen" the enforcement and management of anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws.

One of the changes is in response to recent federal court rulings that have limited the Commerce Department's ability to assess the impact of market changes. In the final rule, the Department lists examples of specific market conditions that distort production costs, such as overcapacity and oversupply, subsidies, and tax exemptions.

In addition, the final ruling lifted the Department of Commerce’s prohibition on cross-border subsidies (that is, subsidies provided by one government to another country). Law firm Wiley Rein explained that the U.S. Department of Commerce is likely to have an impact on plans such as China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative. Cross-border subsidies are now more common than before, and previous interpretations of the law were more restrictive.

Finally, the Department acknowledged that lax, ineffective, or non-existent government regulations on human rights, labor rights, or environmental protections allow foreign competitors to produce goods at a lower cost than under current law.

The U.S. Department of Commerce wrote in the final ruling: "The purpose of these modifications and additions to our regulations is to enhance, improve, and strengthen the enforcement and management of AD/CVD regulations, make such enforcement and management more efficient, and resolve distortions." Cost and price factors, which make the 'playing field' less 'level' for domestic parties involved and may contribute to unfair trade."

The new amendments will come into effect on April 24, 2024.

It is recommended to cancel the tariff exemption for bifacial modules

Last week was a busy week for U.S. policymakers, with Senators Jon Ossof and Raphael Warnock urging President Biden to cancel the ongoing tariff exemption for bifacial modules.

"Removing this exemption will reduce price pressure and promote the development of an important American industry," the two senators said in a letter to Biden. Bifacial modules account for nearly 90% of PV module imports, the senators said.

On March 27, SEMA urged the Biden administration to "create a level playing field" for the U.S. solar industry after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited solar cell manufacturer Suniva, which signed a solar cell supply agreement with module manufacturer Heliene. .

SEMA Executive Director Mike Carr said: "U.S. Secretary of State Yellen highlighted the unfair playing field from which Chinese manufacturers are currently benefiting. We applaud him for doing so. Although the important incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act allow the U.S. Solar manufacturing has returned to competition, but it will not make other countries willing to give up their market dominance."

The issue was highlighted in a report released earlier this month by the SEMA Alliance, which called for strengthening domestic supply chains to produce parts in the United States.

"We also need the Treasury Department to recognize that their current domestic content incentive guidance reinforces an unfair playing field. Until China's monopoly on silicon wafer supply is broken, the U.S. cannot have a sustainable solar manufacturing industry that The monopoly leaves battery manufacturers with no choice.”

Can you ship your components into the country?

A further ruling in August 2023 found that five solar PV manufacturers had been circumventing import duties by moving small parts of their supply chains to Southeast Asia.

In its final ruling on AD/CVD tariffs in August 2023, the Commerce Department found that Trina Solar, Canadian Solar, BYD Hong Kong, New East Solar and LONGi’s Vina Solar had been shipping them through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam Some of the products undergo "a small amount of processing" before being shipped to the United States.

Speaking to PV Tech Premium shortly after the ruling, renewable energy consulting and research firm Exawatt explained that the UFLPA will ultimately have a longer-lasting impact than the AD/CVD ruling.

"In my opinion, the main factor that dominates U.S. pricing is UFLPA and whether you can get components into the U.S."

"How do you get the components into the U.S.? With any luck, they won't be stopped for inspection, customs will actually accept the documentation for the components, they will stop them, inspect them, and then release them. The risk premium is largely around that part produced."

Finally, in late December, Auxin sued the Department of Commerce and U.S. Customs and Border Protection over the AD/CVD exemption issue, alleging that the two entities failed to collect payments and credits related to AD/CVD tariffs on imported solar products.trina solar panels