New Delhi/Washington, Feb 25,2026: The US Department of Commerce has announced preliminary countervailing duties on solar panel imports from India, Indonesia, and Laos, aimed at what it describes as offsetting subsidies provided by these countries to their producers.
Preliminary duty rates have been set at 125.87 per cent for India, 104.38 per cent for Indonesia, and 80.67 per cent for Laos. U.S. Customs will begin collecting cash deposits based on these preliminary rates.
The duties follow petitions filed on July 17, 2025, by the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, representing domestic solar panel producers.
The petitions claimed that imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules, from the three countries were being sold in the US at less than fair value (LTFV) and were causing, or threatening, material injury to the domestic solar industry.
The petitions included countervailing duty requests and were accompanied by supplementary information submitted between July 21 and August 4, 2025, records revealed.
The action follows findings by the US International Trade Commission in August 2025 that imports from India, Indonesia, and Laos had caused material injury to the domestic industry. The US Commerce department’s review used import data from India’s most recent fiscal year and 2024 calendar-year data for Indonesia and Laos.
Preliminary anti-dumping duty determinations are scheduled for April, with final combined duty rates expected in September. A final injury determination by the International Trade Commission is set for October, after which Customs will collect the final tariffs.
Shares of Indian solar equipment makers plunged on Wednesday after the United States imposed preliminary duties on imports from India, Indonesia, and Laos. Makers were hit hard in early trading, with Waaree Energies and Premier Energies tumbling around 15 per cent, while Vikram Solar fell nearly 8 per cent before partially recovering some losses.
