The International Trade Administration (ITA), under the United States Department of Commerce, has recommended the imposition of countervailing duty (CVD) against wind energy equipment manufacturers from India and Malaysia.

The Department of Commerce has preliminarily determined that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of utility-scale wind towers from India. The department is conducting a probe and the investigation covers the period between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020.

On September 30, 2020, the Department of Commerce received CVD petitions concerning imports of utility-scale wind towers from India and Malaysia, filed on behalf of the Wind Tower Trade Coalition, whose members are Arcosa Wind Towers and Broadwind Towers.

The petitions were accompanied by anti-dumping duty petitions concerning imports of wind towers from India, Malaysia, and Spain.

The coalition had alleged that India and Malaysia provide countervailable subsidies to producers of wind towers. The coalition argued that the imports of the towers are materially injuring, or threatening material injury to, the domestic industry producing wind towers in the United States.

According to the coalition, the industry’s injured condition is illustrated by a significant and increasing absolute and relative volume of subject imports; underselling and price depression or suppression; declining financial performance; declining production, U.S. shipments, and capacity utilization; negative impact on employment variables; and lost sales and revenues.

The Department of Commerce in November 2020 had assessed the allegations and supporting evidence regarding material injury, the threat of material injury, causation, as well as negligibility, and have determined that these allegations are properly supported by adequate evidence and meet the statutory requirements for initiation.

The Department of Commerce has preliminarily determined that the following estimated countervailable subsidy rates exist for Indian exporters:

There have been other components that have seen new duties and the repeal of old ones in the renewables sector in the U.S.

In December last year, the U.S. said that it would impose preliminary duties of 120% on all silicon metal imports from Kazakhstan.

The United States Court of International Trade, in November 2020, repealed the exemption of imported bifacial solar panels from the imposition of safeguard duty. For the fifth time, the court addressed the withdrawal of the exclusion of imported bifacial solar modules from safeguard duty, which President Donald Trump had imposed in 2018 to protect the domestic solar industry.

Rahul is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before entering the world of renewables, Rahul was head of the Gujarat bureau for The Quint. He has also worked for DNA Ahmedabad and Ahmedabad Mirror. Hailing from a banking and finance background, Rahul has also worked for JP Morgan Chase and State Bank of India. More articles from Rahul Nair.