On Monday, January 22, 2018, The Trump administration reached a decision on the Section 201 Trade Case that has been lingering over the solar industry for the last several months. Sustainable Capital Finance will provide further updates as we learn more but here are the preliminary findings:
- There will be a 30% tariff on all imported crystalline silicon PV modules & cells with the first 2.5 GW of cell imports being excluded.
- The tariffs will decrease annually at a rate of 5% over the next 4 years finalizing at 15% in 2022.
- There are no floor prices or quotas established, despite being included within the initial recommendation proposed by the two petitioners Suniva & Solarworld.
- According to GTM Research, the proposed tariff should equate to a tax of $0.10-$0.15/W which will hamper deployment of utility-scale solar installations by as much as 9%.
- Solar jobs will undoubtedly be affected by this tariff, but the industry as a whole can breathe a sigh of relief that further damages were avoided.
