Tariff exemption could flood US with no-duty solar panels: US solar energy equipment manufacturers are petitioning the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to excise a tariff loophole — the exact nature of which is unclear — that could allow panels imported from four South Asian economies to proliferate stateside, Bloomberg reports. The commission found that solar imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam — which dominate the US market — were harming domestic production, and approved duties ranging between 34% and 3,521%. US players are asking for the tariffs to be rolled out by 2 June — rather than the slated date of 30 June — to prevent no-duty products from entering the market.

What happens if the loophole remains? If the ITC does not publish a decision by 2 June, significant quantities of solar equipment stored in warehouses could enter [the US] tariff-free. The products that maneuver through the loophole could amount to hundreds of mns of greenbacks.

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