The Trump administration has imposed duties of 126% on imports of solar cells from India following a “preliminary” determination that subsidised exports from Indian companies were hurting the competitiveness of American solar companies and contravened World Trade Organization agreements on subsidies.
These tariffs were collectively imposed on February 24 on India, Indonesia and Laos following an investigation that began on August 7, 2025 by the U.S. Department of Commerce following a July 7, 2025 complaint by the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade (AASMT), a coalition of leading solar manufacturers.
The Indian companies under the U.S. Commerce Ministry’s radar included Mundra Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd. and Mundra Solar PV Ltd. - both part of the Adani Group- Premier Energies Photovoltaic Private Limited (Premier) and Waaree Energies Ltd. and Waaree Solar Americas.
Beyond India, the department set initial rates ranging from 86% to 143% for Indonesia and 81% for Laos.
This latest U.S. levy comes after New Delhi and Washington agreed on a framework for the India-U.S. trade deal to bring down tariffs on India’s exports to 18% from 50% earlier. After this, the U.S. Supreme Court quashed Trump tariffs, calling them unconstitutional. President Trump then came up with a new 10% baseline duty on several imports.
