American solar manufacturers file petition for anti-circumvention inquiry into South Korean companies

Type: Petition · Technology: Solar · Country: United States · Announced: 2026-06-23

American Manufacturers for Energy Resilience (AMER), a group of American solar manufacturers, has filed a petition with the United States Department of Commerce requesting an anti-circumvention inquiry into companies that import solar materials from South Korea. The petition specifically focuses on the effects of Hanwha Q CELLS's production of crystalline-silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) materials in Korea, noting that the company no longer has an in-country source for upstream materials like raw polysilicon, ingots, and wafers, and instead gets these materials from Chinese suppliers. AMER is requesting a country-wide inquiry that would cover all producers and exporters of CSPV cells operating in the Republic of Korea. The core of AMER's legal argument is that the companies are performing only 'minor or insignificant' processing of the Chinese materials, which AMER alleges constitutes tariff circumvention. The petition is the latest development in a series of antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) cases filed by American solar manufacturers against foreign companies. Hanwha Q CELLS has begun to make its own solar ingots, wafers, and cells in the U.S. at its plant in Cartersville, Georgia, in an effort to avoid tariffs on imported solar cells. The outcome of the petition could have material implications for the solar industry, as it could lead to increased tariffs on solar cells imported from South Korea.

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