The US tariff hike on solar equipment exported from Southeast Asia to protect its domestic industry will likely dent demand for such products from Malaysia, according to an industry leader.

The US Commerce Department on Wednesday announced increased duties on solar equipment exported by Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The move followed its initial findings of unfair use of government subsidies to produce solar equipment sold by companies from the four countries.

US authorities on May 15 launched an anti-dumping investigation on solar equipment exported from Southeast Asia following complaints by the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee of cheap imports threatening to derail the US solar industry.

“A slowdown in Malaysia’s solar manufacturing will significantly disrupt the local solar supply chain, considering Malaysia is one of the major solar panel suppliers to the US market,” said Davis Chong, executive director and group chief executive of leading solar energy solutions firm Solarvest Holdings.

Malaysian solar equipment shipped to the US will include a 9.13 per cent duty under the new tariff regime, albeit not as high as a 23.06 per cent rate for such exports from Thailand. Vietnam’s solar exports face the lowest hike at 2.85 per cent, followed by an 8.25 per cent tariff for Cambodia.

Chong, the head of the Malaysian Photovoltaic Industry Association, said some affected solar companies were expected to gradually shift operations to countries facing lower US duties compared with Malaysia.

Source: https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3280744/malaysia-thailand-cambodia-vietnam-get-caught-us-solar-tariff-cross-hairs