RIYADH: The administration of US President Donald Trump has imposed preliminary tariffs of up to 146 percent on solar panels imported from India, Indonesia, and Laos, after concluding that these countries provided unfair support to their manufacturing sectors.
The move is expected to benefit US producers, but in turn, could raise costs for consumers, according to Bloomberg.
The US Department of Commerce said on Feb. 24 that the tariff rates reflect the level of support provided, at 126 percent on imports from India, between 86 percent and 143 percent on Indonesia, and 81 percent on Laos.
The US claims that this support allows foreign producers to sell their exports in the US market at prices below production costs, harming the competitiveness of domestic manufacturers.
While these tariffs are expected to favor domestic manufacturers, they will negatively affect US renewable energy project developers, who have long relied on low-cost foreign supplies, exacerbating uncertainty in a sector already influenced by fluctuating policies and regulatory decisions in Washington.
