A coalition of solar manufacturers known as American Manufacturers for ENergy Resilience (AMER)—comprising Heliene, SEG Solar, and Canadian Solar—has petitioned the US Department of Commerce to launch an anti-circumvention inquiry into solar cell imports from South Korea. The group alleges that South Korean producers, including Hanwha, are bypassing long-standing anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese products by utilizing Chinese-made wafers to manufacture crystalline silicon PV cells. This move marks a significant shift in the domestic industry’s protectionist strategy, as Hanwha, a major investor in US manufacturing, now finds itself the primary target of trade litigation.
The petition, filed by the law firm Lighthill PC, argues that South Korean solar producers rely heavily on Chinese-origin components, such as ingots and wafers, rather than conducting domestic research and development or sourcing materials locally. According to the report, there is effectively no ongoing production of solar-grade polysilicon or wafers within South Korea. By importing these critical inputs from China to complete their solar cells, the manufacturers are accused of circumventing trade barriers that have been in place since 2012. AMER has requested that the Department of Commerce conduct a comprehensive, country-wide investigation into these practices.
This development is particularly notable because Hanwha has previously acted as a petitioner in similar trade cases alongside the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade. Industry analysts suggest this petition highlights the evolving nature of US trade enforcement, where the primary expectation is that companies must establish domestic manufacturing operations to participate in the US market. This pressure persists despite Hanwha Qcells’ substantial investment of over US$2.5 billion in a vertically integrated facility in Georgia. That site has begun producing solar cells, with full-scale manufacturing of ingots, wafers, and modules expected to reach significant capacity later this year.