U.S. Imposes Preliminary CVD Up To 143.3% On Solar Cells From India, Indonesia, Laos

The U.S. Department of Commerce has officially announced a preliminary affirmative determination in its countervailing duty (CVD) investigation into crystalline silicon photovoltaic (C-Si PV) cells, regardless of whether they are assembled into modules, imported from India, Indonesia, and Laos. The agency concluded that PV manufacturers in the three countries have received improper government subsidies, which have caused substantial harm to the interests of domestic U.S. solar manufacturing companies and disrupted the fair competition order of the U.S. solar market. This ruling marks a further escalation of U.S. trade restrictions on imported solar products, targeting a key source of overseas PV supply for the U.S. market, and is set to reshape the global solar trade landscape in the coming years.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has set clear preliminary countervailing duty rates for each country, with additional specific rates designated for individual enterprises in addition to the national unified rates, covering all eligible PV products exported to the United States.

: The national unified countervailing duty rate is 125.87%. Specific enterprises including Mundra Solar Energy Limited and Mundra Solar PV Limited are also subject to the same 125.87% duty rate, with no differentiated rate adjustments for these key Indian solar exporters.

: The national baseline duty rate stands at 104.38%. Among specific enterprises, PT Blue Sky Solar faces a higher preliminary rate of 143.3%, while PT REC Solar Energy is subject to a relatively lower rate of 85.99%.

: The national unified countervailing duty rate is 80.67%, applicable to all local solar exporters. Specific enterprises including SolarSpace Technology Sole Co LTD and Vietnam Sunergy Joint Stock Company are also imposed the 80.67% rate without exceptions.

This investigation covers products classified under two key U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes: 8541.42.0010 and 8541.43.0010, which include all standard crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and related module products involved in the trade flow between the three countries and the United States.
 

Official trade statistics reveal the scale of PV trade between the three countries and the U.S. market in 2024, highlighting the significant impact of the tariff ruling. In that year, India exported PV cells and modules worth $793 million, equivalent to 2.3 GW of installed capacity, to the United States, making it the largest exporter among the three nations. Indonesia followed with exports valued at $415 million (1.8 GW), while Laos exported $336 million worth of PV products, with an installed capacity equivalent of 1.9 GW. In total, the three countries exported nearly $1.54 billion worth of solar products to the U.S. market in 2024, making them important suppliers for the U.S. utility-scale and distributed solar sectors.
 

July 6, 2026. The final ruling will confirm whether the preliminary duty rates will be formally implemented and adjusted, which will determine the long-term trade barriers for PV products from the three countries entering the U.S. market.

Simultaneously, the U.S. Department of Commerce is conducting a parallel antidumping (AD) investigation targeting solar cells from India, Indonesia, and Laos, focusing on whether the products are sold at unfairly low prices in the U.S. market. The preliminary antidumping ruling was originally scheduled for August 2025 and has now been rescheduled for April 21, 2026. Previously, in August 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce released preliminary alleged dumping margins for the three countries, setting a foundation for the upcoming antidumping ruling: India faces a dumping margin of 123.04%, Indonesia 94.36%, and Laos a wide range of 123.12% to 190.12%.

, a coalition representing major U.S. domestic solar manufacturers. Its core members include industry giants such as Hanwha QCELLS USA Inc. based in Dalton, Georgia, First Solar Inc. headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and Mission Solar Energy LLC located in San Antonio, Texas. The alliance has long argued that subsidized and low-priced imported solar products from overseas are threatening billions of dollars in domestic manufacturing investment, endangering domestic jobs and industrial security, and has been pushing the U.S. government to impose strict trade restrictions.

total comprehensive tariff rate for some exporters from the three countries is expected to exceed 270%, an extremely high tariff barrier that will almost completely block the U.S. market access for PV products from India, Indonesia, and Laos. The move is widely regarded as a key measure by the U.S. to crack down on so-called "origin laundering" practices in the solar industry, closing loopholes that some overseas manufacturers used to avoid U.S. tariffs by shifting production and assembly to third countries.

For Indian solar manufacturers in particular, the steep tariff rates will force them to comprehensively re-evaluate their U.S. export strategy. With the U.S. market effectively closed, India's large-scale solar production capacity will have to be redirected to alternative markets such as Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. This shift will intensify competition in non-U.S. markets and may also drive adjustments in the global solar supply chain and trade flow layout in the short to medium term.