Core view
The U.S. Department of Commerce said it would launch an investigation and may impose tariffs on Cecep Solar Energy Co.Ltd(000591) products imported from four Southeast Asian countries Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. The Department of Commerce said it would “conduct an open and transparent investigation”, adding that “this investigation is only the first step. We have not made any decision on the case, and no additional tariffs will be imposed this time.” The preliminary ruling will be issued within 150 days.
At the same time, a memorandum was released on the website of the U.S. Department of Commerce, which said that auxinsolar, a photovoltaic module manufacturer, provided information that photovoltaic companies operating in the above four Southeast Asian countries are subsidiaries of large Chinese manufacturers.
At present, the enterprises involved in the production capacity of photovoltaic cells and modules in the above-mentioned Southeast Asian countries mainly include Longji, Jingke, Atlas, Trina Solar Co.Ltd(688599) etc. due to the high tariffs imposed by the United States on Chinese modules, it is a common practice to build Southeast Asian production capacity and export to the United States. In the first half of 2021, modules from Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam accounted for 80% of the supply of crystalline silicon modules in the United States. Therefore, the imposition of import tariffs on modules in Southeast Asia may increase the installation cost of photovoltaic in the United States, reduce the installation enthusiasm of operators and delay the progress of renewable energy in the U.S. market. Longji and other enterprises said that the impact was still under evaluation.
Risk tip: the price fluctuation of the industrial chain is higher than expected, and the overseas demand is lower than expected.
