China's Trina Solar says its 6.5 GW silicon solar wafer manufacturing facility in Vietnam, with polysilicon sourced from outside China, is set to exclusively serve the US market once it starts commercial operations in mid-2023 which it claims will help it receive exemption from circumvention.
Trina Solar US in the statement did not reveal the location of its polysilicon source, but stated that it will be used to manufacture cells and modules in Southeast Asia. This wafer fab, it added, is part of the company's supply chain diversification. It will serve commercial & industrial, utility, and residential markets in the US.
Trina Solar was named in the US Department of Commerce's (DOC) anti-circumvention investigation along with BYD Hong Kong, Canadian Solar and LONGi owned Vietnam based Vina Solar, but no duties will be imposed till June 2024 thanks to US President's executive powers providing a 2-year relief over imported solar components (see US Finds Chinese Companies Dodging Circumvention Tariffs).
The DOC had also added a caveat stating that companies in the 4 Southeast Asian countries—Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia—will be permitted to certify that they are not circumventing AD/CVD orders, in which case the circumvention findings will not apply.
Trina Solar says its Vietnam wafer fab will be US trade-compliant. It stated, "Prior to the Department of Commerce (DOC) preliminary AD/CVD determination in December 2022, Trina worked to expand production locations, arrange business operations, and diversify supply chains to comply with US regulations and minimize tariff impact on its products."
The development comes soon after Trina's compatriot JA Solar said it will establish a 2 GW annual module production fab in the US (see JA Solar Takes US Solar Module Manufacturing Steps).
Trina Solar is participating in TaiyangNews Virtual Conference on Solar Module Innovations 2023 Looking Back and Forth on January 31, 2023. Registrations to the event are free and can be done here.