US to issue tariff decision on solar panels from Southeast Asia, including Malaysia

US trade officials are expected to issue a preliminary decision on 1st December on whether to impose tariffs on solar panels from four Southeast Asian nations, a move clean energy advocates argue would stall projects and harm progress in combatting climate change.

预计美国贸易官员将于12 月 1 日就是否对来自四个东南亚国家的太阳能电池板征收关税做出初步决定，清洁能源倡导者认为此举将拖延项目并损害应对气候变化的进展。

The Commerce Department’s finding will mark the latest development in a longstanding effort by US solar panel producers to stem the flow of cheap Asian goods that they argue make their products uncompetitive.

美国商务部的调查结果将标志着美国太阳能电池板生产商长期以来为阻止廉价亚洲商品的流动而做出的努力的最新进展，他们认为这些商品会使他们的产品缺乏竞争力。

But even if the agency decides the tariffs are warranted, the levies would not take effect for two years, thanks to a moratorium imposed by President Joe Biden earlier this year, after solar companies said the mere threat of tariffs was freezing projects nationwide.

但即使该机构决定征收关税，征税也不会在两年内生效，这要归功于总统乔·拜登今年早些时候暂停征收关税，此前太阳能公司表示，仅仅是关税威胁就会冻结全国范围内的项目。

The waiver is meant to allow US manufacturing time to ramp up, the White House said.

白宫表示，豁免旨在让美国制造业有时间增加。

Biden has a goal of weaning the US electricity sector off of fossil fuels by 2035, a target that could propel solar to supply up to 40% of the nation’s power needs, up from 3% today.

拜登的目标是到 2035 年使美国电力部门摆脱对化石燃料的依赖，这一目标可能会推动太阳能满足全国电力需求的 40%，高于目前的 3%。

The determination by Commerce follows an eight month probe into whether Chinese solar panel makers shifted production to Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia to avoid paying US duties on solar goods made in China that have been in place for a decade. The four countries account for about 80% of US panel supplies.

商务部的决定是在对中国太阳能电池板制造商是否将生产转移到马来西亚、泰国、越南和柬埔寨以避免支付美国对中国制造的太阳能产品征收十年的关税进行为期八个月的调查之后做出的。这四个国家约占美国面板供应的80%。

A final decision is expected in May.

最终决定预计在 5 月做出。

Auxin Solar, a small US solar panel maker, requested the investigation in February, drawing fierce opposition from solar project developers who rely on cheap imports to keep costs low.

美国小型太阳能电池板制造商 Auxin Solar 在 2 月份请求调查，遭到依赖廉价进口产品以保持低成本的太阳能项目开发商的强烈反对。

“This is a meritless case that could lock up the vast majority of imports coming into the United States,” Abigail Ross Hopper, president of the trade group Solar Energy Industries Association, said in a call with reporters last month.

“这是一个没有根据的案例，可能会阻止绝大多数进口到美国，”贸易组织太阳能工业协会主席Abigail Ross Hopper上个月在与记者的电话中说。

Auxin would not comment ahead of the decision.

Auxin 在做出决定前不予置评。