Commerce imposes solar cell duties on India, Indonesia and Laos

The Department of Commerce has issued countervailing duty orders on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules, from India, Indonesia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, after the U.S. International Trade Commission found that a domestic industry is materially injured by reason of the subsidized imports. The orders, signed on 4 November 2026 by Scot Fullerton, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, were published in the Federal Register of 9 November 2026 as FR Doc. 2026-22824, with a companion notice at FR Doc. 2026-22823. Cash deposits and the suspension of liquidation resume on that publication date.

The decision closes a case opened on 17 July 2025, when the Commission instituted investigations 701–TA–772–774 and 731–TA–1756–1758 following petitions from the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, whose members include Hanwha Q CELLS USA Inc., First Solar and Mission Solar. Commerce published its affirmative final subsidy determinations on 16 September 2026 (91 FR 58643, 91 FR 58647 and 91 FR 58638) and the ITC filed its injury determinations on 2 November 2026, set out in USITC Publication 5804. The merchandise falls under HTSUS subheadings 8541.42.00 and 8541.43.00.

Subsidy rates by company and country

The estimated countervailable subsidy rates, in percent ad valorem, are:

• India: Mundra Solar Energy Limited, Mundra Solar PV Limited and all others, 126.09 percent, based on facts available with adverse inferences.
• Indonesia: PT Blue Sky Solar Indonesia, 173.70 percent, based on facts available with adverse inferences; PT REC Solar Energy Indonesia and all others, 73.20 percent.
• Laos: Solarspace Technology (Laos) Sole Co. Ltd. and all others, 82.03 percent; Vietnam Sunergy Joint Stock Company, 153.67 percent, based on facts available with adverse inferences.

The all-others rates apply to producers or exporters not specifically listed. Because the Commission made affirmative injury findings, unliquidated entries entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption are subject to assessment of the duties.

Critical circumstances and retroactive collection

Commerce found in its final determinations that critical circumstances exist for the two Mundra entities, for PT Blue Sky and all other Indonesian producers and exporters, and for Vietnam Sunergy and all other Laotian exporters. The ITC, however, concluded that critical circumstances do not exist for India and Laos, so retroactive duties are limited to Indonesia: they cover suspended entries made on or after 28 November 2025, ninety days before publication of the preliminary determination.

For India and Laos, Commerce will lift the suspension and refund cash deposits on entries made on or after 28 November 2025 but before 26 February 2026. Entries made from 26 June 2026 — the day after the four-month provisional measures expired — up to the day before publication of the injury findings are liquidated without regard to countervailing duties.

Scope and procedural calendar

The orders cover crystalline silicon cells at least 20 micrometers thick with a p/n junction, plus modules, laminates, panels and building-integrated materials, including parts for finished products assembled after importation. Excluded are thin-film products made from amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride or copper indium gallium selenide, small cells permanently integrated into consumer goods, and defined categories of off-grid panels.

Interested parties seeking to appear on the annual inquiry service list for each order must file an entry of appearance in ACCESS within 30 days of publication; petitioners and foreign governments must do so within five business days. The case numbers are C-533-943 for India, C-560-847 for Indonesia and C-553-004 for Laos.

The orders harden the cost structure of the US solar supply chain: importers of Indian cells face a 126.09 percent deposit, Indonesian suppliers of PT Blue Sky face 173.70 percent, and the retroactive window on Indonesian entries exposes past shipments to duties. For installers and developers, the practical effect is a higher landed cost on a segment of modules that had been priced on assumptions now superseded, and a premium on sourcing from producers holding the lower all-others rates.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 215, 9 November 2026, Notices, p. 70843 (official reference: FR Doc. 2026-22824).