Preliminary Determination of Circumvention Regarding Solar Energy Products from SE Asia | Blogs | Renewable Energy Outlook

On December 8, 2022, the US Division of Commerce (“USDOC”) printed its preliminary willpower that sure producers of photo voltaic power merchandise¹ in Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia that depend on Chinese language-origin inputs keep away from US antidumping and countervailing duties associated to crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules of Chinese language origin.² If this preliminary willpower is upheld by the ultimate willpower, many photo voltaic power panel producers that use these Chinese language-sourced elements must re-evaluate their provide chains and the way they provide the US market. .

The preliminary willpower imposes vital certification obligations. To keep away from gathering AD/CVD money deposits on coated imports from Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, or Cambodia, importers and exporters should certify that the coated imports (i) qualify for a two-year obligation waiver that applied by the Biden Administration, (ii) not coated by the circumvention willpower, or (iii) not coated by the circumvention inquiry. For coated imports entered between April 1, 2022 and December 8, 2022, such certifications should be accomplished and signed no later than January 23, 2023. Certifications for coated imports entered after December 8, 2022 should be accomplished, signed, and dated on the time the entry abstract is filed for the related entry.³ Failure to finish certifications could result in the presumption that any non-certified items are topic to antidumping and countervailing obligation orders.

Background

The Commerce Division decided in 2012 that China was unfairly subsidizing its photo voltaic power product producers, and that Chinese language producers have been promoting their merchandise under honest worth to america.⁴ In response, america applied countervailing and antidumping duties on imported Chinese language-made photo voltaic merchandise.⁵ For the reason that imposition of the AD/CVD orders, roughly 80% of the imported photo voltaic merchandise topic to those orders have been imported from Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia, principally as merchandise of low involving inputs originating in China.⁶

In February 2022, a US photo voltaic panel maker, Auxin Photo voltaic Inc., petitioned the Division of Commerce to research photo voltaic power product producers in Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia, alleging that Chinese language producers use of Southeast Asian producers as a pass-through entity. in an try and keep away from US tariffs.⁷ In accordance with Auxin, photo voltaic power product producers in Southeast Asia have elevated comparatively minor manufacturing worth and made solely a small improve in merchandise which are primarily made in China and are in any other case topic to the duties of import to the US.⁸

Throughout the course of the Commerce investigation into Auxin’s claims, the Biden Administration in June 2022 requested the Protection Manufacturing Act to take a number of actions aimed toward “accelerating[ing] [the] home manufacturing of unpolluted power applied sciences.”⁹ As a part of this initiative, Biden introduced a two-year tariff exemption interval for photo voltaic power imports from Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia.¹⁰ Within the context of the Auxin inquiry, which means even when Commerce concludes that China is utilizing Southeast Asian producers to evade US commerce rules, entries of coated merchandise from Southeast Asian producers be eligible for a waiver of in any other case relevant AD/CV duties till June 5, 2024.

Preliminary Willpower of Commerce

On December 2, 2022, the Commerce Division introduced a preliminary willpower of its investigations into Auxin’s claims.¹¹ To start with, Commerce reached a basic discovery that “circumvention occurred in every of the 4 Southeast Asian international locations.”¹² Moreover, as a part of its investigation, Commerce chosen two photo voltaic power product producers from every of the related international locations – ieMalaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia.¹³ In accordance with Commerce’s preliminary findings, 4 out of eight firms evaded US commerce rules by promoting photo voltaic power merchandise in america with inadequate processing to fulfill the take a look at of anti-circumvention.¹⁴

As a result of Commerce preliminarily discovered that circumvention occurred in every of the 4 Southeast Asian international locations, Commerce issued a “country-wide” circumvention discovering. Which means every of the international locations is designated, for all producers, as paths for circumvention. The one exceptions are for particularly investigated firms decided by Commerce that don’t keep away from orders. Because of this, Commerce locations the burden on particular person importers who carry merchandise from these international locations to show that their merchandise don’t evade, by implementing a certification course of.

The Commerce Division will conduct an in-person audit to confirm its preliminary findings, in addition to solicit feedback on its findings, earlier than issuing its closing willpower. Commerce’s closing willpower is at the moment scheduled to be issued on Could 1, 2023.¹⁵

Key Takeaways

Assuming the outcomes of Commerce’s preliminary findings are supported by the ultimate willpower, the Biden Administration’s two-year tariff waiver for coated merchandise from Southeast Asia will expire in June. 2024, producers of photo voltaic power merchandise in Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia might be required to pay AD/CVD duties on most imports of photo voltaic power merchandise from these international locations.

To make sure correct administration of preliminary determinations pursuant to the Biden Administration’s waiver (and to keep away from money deposits on AD/CVD duties on coated merchandise coming into america within the interim), importers and exporters of coated merchandise should put together certifications stating that their merchandise qualify for waiver or not beneath AD/CVD orders.

Particularly, importers and exporters in search of to keep away from money deposits should confirm entries in one of many three codecs laid out in Appendix IV of the Preliminary Willpower Discover filed within the Federal Register in December 8, 2022.¹⁶ A producer could file a certification based mostly on:

1. specified entries qualify as “Relevant Entries” beneath the Biden Administration’s waiver;
2. that Commerce has already investigated the precise producer and made a “non-preventable” willpower; or
3. that entry covers merchandise that fall outdoors the scope of US AD/CVD orders on Chinese language photo voltaic power merchandise.¹⁷

For the primary entries of coated merchandise imported into the US between April 1, 2022 and December 8, 2022, importers and exporters should full and signal certifications (or a unified certification relevant of a number of entries) no later than January 23, 2023. coated imports entered after December 8, 2022, importers and exporters should full, signal, and date a certification for entry by the point the entry abstract is filed for the associated entry, in addition to importing these certifications to the ACE system as a part of the entry course of.

Foley & Lardner’s observe of Authorities Enforcement Protection & Investigations helps firms navigate advanced commerce rules like these.

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