Hanwha Qcells and other U.S. solar companies have urged the U.S. government to impose tariffs on solar panels imported from Indonesia, India, and Laos. According to Reuters and Bloomberg on July 17, the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing and Trade, comprising U.S. solar firms including Hanwha Qcells, First Solar, TalonPV, and Mission Solar, submitted a petition to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The companies allege that Chinese-owned firms in Indonesia, India, and Laos are producing unfairly low-priced products for export to the U.S. Previously, these U.S. companies requested tariffs on solar panels imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam for similar reasons. Last year, the U.S. government granted the request, imposing tariffs on solar products from these four countries.

Bloomberg reported that while imports from those four countries have since declined, Indonesia and Laos have filled the gap. According to Bloomberg’s data, the share of U.S. solar cell and module imports from Indonesia and Laos surged from 1.9% in May last year to 44% in May this year.Imports from India have also been increasing since mid-2022.