News Brief
Arun Dhital
Feb 25, 2026 | Updated 11:28 AM GMT+5:30
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Washington’s latest trade move has cast a shadow over the emerging India-US economic partnership, as the US Commerce Department announced preliminary duties of 126 per cent on solar panel imports from India, citing unfair government subsidies that allegedly gave Indian exporters a pricing advantage over American manufacturers.
The announcement affects several Asian suppliers. Indonesia faces initial rates between 86 per cent and 143 per cent, while Laos has been handed an 81 per cent levy.
The action follows a formal finding that New Delhi’s support for domestic solar manufacturing enabled its exporters to undercut locally produced American goods.
The timing has raised eyebrows in trade circles. Just weeks ago, both governments had reached a preliminary framework to reduce tariffs on Indian exports from 50 per cent to 18 per cent.
That agreement came prior to the US Supreme Court striking down earlier Trump tariffs as unconstitutional, after which the administration introduced a fresh 10 per cent baseline duty on most imports, with a possible escalation to 15 per cent being signalled.
The latest announcement now threatens to unravel those diplomatic gains, with officials from both sides having already called off a three-day meeting planned this week to advance the interim trade deal.
India’s solar export figures tell the story of rapid growth. The country shipped goods worth $792.6 million to American buyers in 2024, nine times what it exported in 2022.
Together, India, Indonesia and Laos supplied 57 per cent of US solar module imports in the first half of 2025, a share driven partly by Chinese manufacturers relocating production to these countries to sidestep existing US trade barriers.
American manufacturing advocates welcomed the duties. Tim Brightbill, lead attorney for the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, said, “Those cannot succeed if unfairly traded imports are allowed to distort the market.”
However, solar developers in the US warn that shutting out Indian supply will push project costs higher at a time when the industry already faces elevated interest rates and uncertain policy conditions.
A final ruling is expected by 6 July, 2026, alongside a parallel anti-dumping investigation.
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