US Slaps India, Indonesia, Laos with 143 Percent Solar Tariffs

(MENAFN) The United States has unleashed a sweeping wave of punishing tariffs on solar cells and panels imported from India, Indonesia, and Laos, in a calculated move to shield domestic manufacturers from what Washington characterizes as unfair foreign subsidies, media reported on Tuesday.

The US Commerce Department has formally established preliminary duties targeting solar imports from all three Asian nations, each of which stands accused of artificially propping up local producers through government subsidization — a practice that American industry groups say has systematically undercut US manufacturers.

The push for action originated from the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, which had pressed federal authorities to launch a full investigation, arguing that intervention was essential to safeguard the future of domestic solar production.

Duty rates have been calibrated to reflect the volume of solar equipment each country ships to American shores. Under the preliminary framework, Indian imports face a punishing 126% levy, Indonesian shipments are subject to rates ranging from 86% to 143%, and goods from Laos will be hit with an 81% tariff, according to media.

Compounding the pressure, the US Commerce Department is simultaneously running a parallel antidumping probe targeting solar cell imports from all three countries — a second front that could deliver yet another financial blow to affected exporters.

The scale of the commercial stakes is substantial. The three nations collectively accounted for $4.5 billion in US solar imports — representing nearly two-thirds of the country's total solar import volume — according to federal trade data. The meteoric rise of Indian exports to the US market has been particularly striking: shipments surged from just $83.86 million in 2022 to $792.6 million in 2024, underscoring how rapidly New Delhi had captured a dominant share of American solar demand.

India, Indonesia, and Laos together commanded 57% of all US solar module imports during the first half of 2025, media reported — a concentration of supply that US domestic producers have argued leaves the market dangerously exposed to foreign pricing manipulation.

The financial consequences for Indian solar manufacturers are expected to be severe. Citi warned in a research note that the steep duty rates would render the US market effectively unviable for Indian solar panel producers — a potentially crippling blow to an export sector that had rapidly expanded its American footprint over the past three years.

Critically, these sector-specific measures are legally and structurally distinct from the sweeping 10% baseline tariffs that President Donald Trump reimposed on goods from all countries effective February 24. Those broader levies came in the wake of a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court, which last week struck down the vast majority of Trump's earlier tariff architecture, determining that the president had overstepped his constitutional authority when he invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) last April to justify blanket tariffs against virtually every nation on earth.

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