The American Solar Energy Manufacturing and Trade Alliance, as the core petitioner, is advancing two key actions: applying for an extension of the preliminary anti-dumping duty determination and submitting a “critical circumstances” claim. This stems from July 2025, when U.S. domestic module manufacturers initiated anti-dumping/countervailing duty (AD/CVD) investigations against solar cells and modules imported from India, Indonesia, and Laos, alleging that related manufacturers shifted production to evade tariffs imposed by other countries. Data shows that U.S. imports from Indonesia and Laos have risen sharply since 2024, while imports from India have remained relatively stable.
In August, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that the domestic industry was materially injured. The Department of Commerce originally planned to announce preliminary duty rates by the end of 2025, but progress was delayed due to a 43-day federal government shutdown.
The Alliance has requested a further 50-day extension for the preliminary anti-dumping duty determination, citing the investigation’s involvement of multiple countries’ products, the need for substantial resources, and the fact that related supplemental questionnaires have not yet been fully collected.
If approved, the preliminary anti-dumping duty determination would be postponed to April 21, 2026. No extension was requested for the preliminary countervailing duty determination, which is expected to be announced around February 20.
Critical Circumstances Claim
Simultaneously, the Alliance (including members such as First Solar, Mission Solar, Hanwha Qcells, and Talon) escalated its actions further on January 26, 2026, by submitting a “critical circumstances” claim to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. Related documents indicate that imports of solar products from India, Indonesia, and Laos have surged, a phenomenon that “strongly suggests these imports are being rushed into the U.S. market to avoid the imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing duties.”
The Alliance explicitly requested the U.S. Department of Commerce to expedite the critical circumstances determination and to complete it “without fail” before the preliminary countervailing duty determination announcement on February 20. It is understood that if a critical circumstances ruling is affirmed, the relevant duties would be applied retroactively to products imported up to 90 days prior to the ruling’s announcement. This means that, in addition to solar products imported from India and Laos, 2.4 gigawatts of solar modules and 1.4 gigawatts of solar cells from Indonesia that entered the U.S. market in November 2025 could potentially face retroactive tariffs.
This is not the first time the Alliance has made such a request. During the 2024 U.S. AD/CVD investigations into solar products from Southeast Asia, the Alliance also submitted a critical circumstances claim after observing increased imports from Vietnam and Thailand. At that time, the U.S. Department of Commerce accepted the request and ordered the collection of retroactive duties on all solar cells and modules from Vietnam and Thailand.
In the coming months, the U.S. will clarify the details of tariffs on solar product imports from these three countries. The final direction of these investigations warrants close attention from the industry.
