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					</table><p>Despite the risks posed by U.S. anti-dumping/countervailing duty (AD/CVD) petitions, Indian solar companies are downplaying potential impacts on their exports.</p>
<p>Solar cell and module manufacturers exporting to the U.S. dismiss claims that Indian companies are selling below cost or that the government has subsidized them.</p>
<p>A few prominent American companies, under the banner of The Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade (<a href="https://americansolartradecmte.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AASMT</a>), recently <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-trade-petitions-against-solar-exports-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> petitions seeking AD/CVD investigations into solar imports from India, Indonesia, and Laos.</p>
<p>These petitions allege that companies based in India were engaging in illegal trade practices by undercutting the U.S. solar manufacturing industry and flooding the market with cheaper imports. The petitions seek a dumping margin of 213.96% against Indian solar imports.</p>
<p>“I think the investigation has just begun. And there is a pretty long period for these investigations to get completed, and any duty to get effective,” said Vinay Rustagi, Director at Premier Energies, at a recent investors’ call.</p>
<p>He said the two main grounds for any such duty are that the exporters are selling goods at below the cost, which “is definitely not the case in India.” The second main ground is companies receiving government subsidies, which again is not true.</p>
<p>Rustagi said there was no case for U.S. manufacturers to demand any import duties because the cell capacity in the U.S. is “actually very, very limited in relation to the domestic demand. So, for them to claim injury because of any cheap or subsidized imports from India is not actually a legitimate argument. That is why I say that we do not believe that there&#8217;s any kind of solid ground for this investigation.”</p>
<p>Another module manufacturer, Waaree Energies, which has set up facilities in the U.S., concurs. “There is no question of any predatory pricing policy … we are in a position of strength when we are going to talk to the U.S. authorities about the AD/CVD investigation. We will be in a position to defend our case well,” Amit Paithankar, CEO at Waaree Energies, told analysts in a post-earnings call.</p>
<p>The issue figured at the recent <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/event/renewables-summit-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mercom India Renewables Summit 2025,</a> where two solar module manufacturers dismissed U.S. companies’ grounds for an AD/CVD probe.</p>
<p>“None of us are supplying modules because we have excess capacity. Neither are we circumventing products from different countries. India also has a strong domestic demand, and our manufacturing sector is not being set up to export,” said Suhas Donthi, President and CEO at Emmvee Group.</p>
<p>Prashant Mathur, CEO at Saatvik Solar, also <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/india-must-step-up-solar-module-capacity-to-meet-clean-energy-targets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">emphasized</a> that India was not subsidizing solar module manufacturing to sell below cost.</p>
<p>The trade petitions against Indian companies come at a time when the U.S. has emerged as the biggest destination for Indian solar cell and module exports. In the first quarter of 2025, the U.S. <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/indias-solar-exports-up-26-imports-surge-80-2-qoq-in-q1-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accounted</a> for 99.5% of the total solar exports.</p>
<p>According to Indian government data, solar modules and cells worth $1.5 billion were exported to various countries in 2024. Modules made up 97.7% of total shipments, with cells accounting for 2.3%.</p>



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					</table><p>India&#8217;s solar exports success story could run into trouble if the U.S. entertains petitions from domestic manufacturers to impose anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) on module imports.</p>
<p>While the four Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia are more likely the focus for the AD/CVD petitions from U.S. manufacturers, there is a possibility that Indian exports could also be covered, according to investment banking firm <a href="https://www.roth.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ROTH Capital Partners</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;One new regulation may allow current anti-dumping tariffs to be increased, while another may open the door to go after third government subsidies, i.e., Chinese subsidies such as &#8220;Belt and Road&#8221; that may support one of these Southeast Asian countries,&#8221; ROTH said in a report earlier this month. The petitioners could also consider bracketing India with these countries.</p>
<p>The import tariff moratorium is due to end in June this year. After imposing import duties on Chinese solar modules, the U.S. Department of Commerce <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-circumvention-inquiries-solar-products-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clarified</a> the scope of the anti-circumvention probe last August, allowing the import of solar modules made outside of Southeast Asia.</p>
<p>Indian solar exports have surged in the last couple of years, benefitting from restrictions on Chinese imports. According to recent Ministry of Commerce data, Indian solar exports <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/indian-solar-exports-grow-227-2023-imports-up-89" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rose</a> 227% to $1.8 billion (~₹152.6 billion) in 2023 from $561 million (~₹46.4 billion) in 2022.</p>
<p>The U.S. was the top buyer of Indian solar cells and modules, accounting for 97.3% of the exports in 2023.</p>
<p>U.S. solar imports nearly <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-solar-module-imports-surge-to-50gw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">doubled</a> in 2023, with about 50 GW of modules making their way to the solar market. Southeast Asia accounted for 78% of the U.S. photovoltaic module imports.</p>
<p>If AD/CVD tariffs are applied to Indian exports, local manufacturers could feel the heat and lose their cost arbitrage if they have to factor in these tariffs.</p>
<p>The question, however, is whether U.S. manufacturers consider the volume of exports from India significant enough for them to seek relief under the AD/CVD regime.</p>
<p>Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital, commented, &#8220;Indian manufacturers cannot take the U.S. market for granted, and companies need to have alternative strategies if such a scenario plays out. In the end, the goal is similar for India and the U.S.; both countries want to protect and build their domestic clean energy manufacturing capabilities and supply chain instead of depending on imports.&#8221;</p>
<p>Last month, talking about Indian solar manufacturing, Prabhu had said a policy change in the U.S. post-elections could potentially affect export opportunities for Indian manufacturers.</p>
<p>According to Prabhu, the crash in solar module prices and the overcapacity situation in China have led to some U.S. manufacturing projects being canceled and many getting into a wait-and-see mode. &#8220;The Biden administration wants to see the Inflation Reduction Act, a signature accomplishment, succeed at any cost. To build a clean energy manufacturing base, the U.S. administration is willing to do what it takes in terms of tariffs or other means to protect domestic manufacturers and investments. In an election year, both candidates want to show they are tougher than the other when it comes to China, trade, and tariffs.&#8221;</p>
<p>According to a Reuters report, the U.S. government may allow a request by South Korea&#8217;s Hanwha QCells to reverse a two-year-old trade exemption that has allowed imports of bifacial solar panels from China and other countries to avoid tariffs.</p>
<p>QCells is heavily invested in solar manufacturing expansion in the U.S. Last October, it <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/qcells-north-solar-module-facility-to-5-1-gw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> 2 GW of new capacity at its solar panel manufacturing facility in Dalton, Georgia, bringing the factory&#8217;s total output to over 5.1 GW.</p>
<p>The Solar Energy Manufacturers For America Coalition believes 90% of solar panel imports constitute bifacial modules.</p>


Threat of US Anti-Dumping Duties on Indian Solar Module Exports

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