According to the latest announcement from the White House, President Biden will exempt the domestic solar panel manufacturing market from tariffs on imported solar cells.

The President has revised the measures imposed earlier this year on imported crystalline silicon solar (CSPV) tariffs, increasing the number of silicon solar cells entering the United States duty-free to 12.5 gigawatts. The tariff quota (TRQ) for solar cells under Article 201 of the 1974 Trade Act was previously set at 5 gigawatts.

In his latest statement, the President stated, "I have determined that domestic module production and related CSPV battery imports are expected to increase, and therefore it is necessary to modify the actions taken... to expand tariff quotas to the unchanged 12.5 gigawatt quota

The import volume of solar cells increased significantly in the second quarter of 2024, with monthly imports exceeding 1 gigawatt for the first time in May. After importing only 3.6 gigawatts of silicon cells in 2023, American panel assemblers exceeded the tariff quota of 5 gigawatts in June 2024, with imports reaching 5.2 gigawatts that year.

According to Article 201 tariffs, all imported solar cells and panels (regardless of country of origin, with few exceptions) are currently subject to a 14.25% tariff to protect domestic solar panel manufacturers from the impact of cheap products from overseas. Both single-sided and double-sided solar cells and panels are subject to tariffs. But now, the first batch of 12.5 GW imported solar cells can be tariff free.

Earlier this year, domestic solar panel manufacturers Hanwha Qcells, First Solar, Heliene, Suniva, Silfab, Crossroads Solar, Mission Solar, and Auxin Solar petitioned the government to extend Article 201 tariffs and include double-sided solar panels in the tariff order. Some petitioners demanded a tariff quota of 20 gigawatts, but the Biden administration lowered it to 12.5 gigawatts.

This year, as more domestic solar panel assemblers go online, there is a need to import more solar cells to manufacture finished solar panels. Before establishing solar cell manufacturing plants in the country, panel assemblers could only rely on imported batteries, and there are currently no solar cell manufacturing plants online in the country.