Thailand refutes US determination of solar panel 'dumping'
The Commerce Ministry has refuted the United States’ preliminary determination that solar panels imported from Thailand are evading US anti-dumping measures.
US authorities published a determination on December 8 that solar cells and modules imported from manufacturers in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia are using parts from China. This shows an intention to evade US anti-dumping and countervailing duty measures against China, the determination said.
On Thursday, the Thai Commerce Ministry said it dispatched an objection letter to Lisa Wang, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Enforcement and Compliance to protect Thailand’s exporters.
“In this preliminary determination, the US has chosen only two Thai exporters to question about the origin of their materials. These two are only a fraction of all exporters of solar panels in Thailand,” said Ronnarong Phoolpipat, director-general of the ministry’s Foreign Trade Department.
Ronnarong added that US representatives will visit Thailand to investigate solar panel businesses before completing the final determination on anti-dumping practices on May 1, 2023. He urged the businesses to cooperate with US representatives by providing full details of products and materials, adding that the Foreign Trade Department will help prepare Thai businesses for the inspection.
In the meantime, Thai manufacturers can still export solar panels to the US tariff-free under a presidential order that exempts import tax on solar products from the four countries until June 9, 2024.
In the first 10 months of 2022, Thailand exported solar panels worth over US$940 million (32.9 billion baht), up 3% year on year. Thailand’s other major markets for solar panels are Vietnam, India, Taiwan, Turkey and China.
