Waaree Energies, India’s largest solar panel maker, is under investigation in the US for alleged evasion of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on solar cells from China and other Southeast Asian nations by labelling them as made in India.
The company said on Friday that it had cooperated with the US investigations in the past and would continue to do so in the ongoing one. Waaree abides by all applicable local laws and regulations in every country that it operates, it added.
Waaree Energies stocks stumbles
Shares of the company fell more than 7% to Rs 3,207.3 on Friday as the news about the investigation by the US Customs and Border Protection came in.
“The United States is a very important manufacturing base for Waaree Energies in our expansion ambitions. Our subsidiary Waaree Solar Americas has an operational 1.6 GW of module manufacturing facility in Texas, which is being expanded to 3.2 GW,” the company said in a stock exchange filing.
Recently, the company’s US subsidiary acquired assets of Meyer Burger to further expand manufacturing in the US. “We are working in a steadfast manner on our commitment to building a manufacturing footprint in the US,” it said.
What is the probe about?
According to reports, the US Customs and Border Protection started a formal investigation against Waaree and Waaree Solar Americas, and imposed interim measures on them. The agency stated in a memo that there was reasonable suspicion that Waaree had failed to label some of its imported products as subject to the US’ anti-dumping and countervailing duties on solar cells and panels made in China and other Asian nations. The investigation was started on a petition by the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee.
Earlier, the US had imposed steep anti-dumping duties on solar products from four Southeast Asian countries – Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The US Department of Commerce also initiated an investigation in August into imports of solar photovoltaic cells and modules from India.
Over the past couple of years, driven by surging domestic solar module manufacturing capacity, India has become the fifth-largest exporter, accounting for 7-8% of imports.
In the calendar year 2024, the US imported 54 GW worth of solar modules, of which India exported 4.4 GW, translating into approximately 8% of total volumes, according to data from Kotak Institutional Equities.