- The extension of U.S. trade penalties targeting Vietnam and three other Southeast Asian nations has prompted some of the largest Chinese-owned solar firms in Vietnam to reduce production and lay off staff.
- Meanwhile, numerous new Chinese-owned solar projects are emerging in neighboring Indonesia and Laos, where they are not covered by Washington’s trade restrictions. According to Reuters reporting, their anticipated capacity is sufficient to supply around half of the panels installed in the United States last year.
- Chinese solar firms have repeatedly shrunk output in existing hubs while building new factories in other countries, allowing them to sidestep tariffs and dominate the U.S. and global markets despite successive waves of U.S. tariffs over more than a decade designed to rein them in.
- Although Chinese companies have been shifting their solar manufacturing for years, no prior reports have examined the extent of this most recent phase’s migration to Indonesia and Laos. For this article, more than a dozen persons from five different countries were interviewed, including lawyers, officials from non-Chinese solar enterprises, and workers at Chinese factories.
- According to SPV Market Research, roughly 80% of global solar shipments come from China, with the majority coming from its export hubs in other parts of Asia. That stands in stark contrast to the United States’ dominance of the industry two decades ago.
- Following concerns from U.S. manufacturers, Washington imposed tariffs on solar shipments from those four countries in Southeast Asia last year and increased them in October.
- The extension of U.S. trade penalties targeting Vietnam and three other Southeast Asian nations has prompted some of the largest Chinese-owned solar firms in Vietnam to reduce production and lay off staff.
- Meanwhile, numerous new Chinese-owned solar projects are emerging in neighboring Indonesia and Laos, where they are not covered by Washington’s trade restrictions. According to Reuters reporting, their anticipated capacity is sufficient to supply around half of the panels installed in the United States last year.
- Chinese solar firms have repeatedly shrunk output in existing hubs while building new factories in other countries, allowing them to sidestep tariffs and dominate the U.S. and global markets despite successive waves of U.S. tariffs over more than a decade designed to rein them in.
- Although Chinese companies have been shifting their solar manufacturing for years, no prior reports have examined the extent of this most recent phase’s migration to Indonesia and Laos. For this article, more than a dozen persons from five different countries were interviewed, including lawyers, officials from non-Chinese solar enterprises, and workers at Chinese factories.
- According to SPV Market Research, roughly 80% of global solar shipments come from China, with the majority coming from its export hubs in other parts of Asia. That stands in stark contrast to the United States’ dominance of the industry two decades ago.
- Following concerns from U.S. manufacturers, Washington imposed tariffs on solar shipments from those four countries in Southeast Asia last year and increased them in October.
Source:
reuters
