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3 days ago
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ARTICLE AD BOX
Summary
Just when India-US trade ties seemed to be on the mend, Washington imposed a 126% tariff on Indian solar panels. Is this self-defeating protectionism, petty geopolitics or plain policy confusion?
After reaching a framework for a trade deal with India that raised the hope of bilateral ties settling down, Washington has thrown a fresh curve ball. On Tuesday, the US commerce department announced varying import duties on solar panels from three Asian countries, including a whopping 126% on those from India. The other two, Indonesia and Laos, also face similarly high tariffs.
Stocks of Indian solar panel companies tanked, although the effects of this US move could go beyond the sector. Trade talks between India and US were recently deferred in response to the US Supreme Court ruling that struck down Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. The US President replaced those with a new 10% tariff, which he threatens to raise to 15%.
If all this seemed ad hoc, America’s solar tariffs are no different. Purportedly, these aim to protect US panel-makers from cheap Asian imports that Washington alleges are propelled by state subsidies. It also suspects the three countries of acting as trans-shipment nodes for Chinese panels.
America hasn’t backed these claims with evidence and it might find it harder to decarbonize its power supply. But then, logic rarely motivates US trade policy.
English (US) ·