Imports of Chinese solar panels to the U.S. down 45%

20.7.2012

In May 2012, Chinese solar imports into the U.S. totaled $124.1 million, which is about 45% less than in May 2011. According to the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM), this significant decline shows that the market is increasingly aware of the costs, risks and uncertainties associated with the import of Chinese solar cells and panels.

Although Chinese imports have declined for two months, total imports for the first five months of 2012 are still higher than in 2011. May results also reflect the new import tax of 4.73% on Chinese cells and panels, announced by the federal government on March 26. Taxes have been retroactively applied to all imports from December 27, 2011. Other anti-dumping duties have been introduced by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Meantime, imports from several other countries continued to rise significantly, compared with shipments in May 2011. These countries include Malaysia (up 950% year-on-year), Taiwan (up 615%) and the Philippines (up 47.3%).

-tk-