India’s final solar duties set at 123.04% ahead of U.S. investigation report
Key Facts
The U.S. Commerce Department kept the final dumping margin on Indian solar cells at 123.04% and set the adjusted cash deposit rate, after accounting for countervailing duties, at 107.17%, according to its final determination issued on 11 September 2026. The decision was part of two U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty investigations into solar cells from India, Indonesia and Laos. On 14 October, the U.S. International Trade Commission found that imports from the three countries had materially injured a U.S. industry. That finding paves the way for duty orders, while the commission said its public report would be available by 23 November. These developments come in the context of an ongoing trade case, not a new decision confirmed on 9 November.
The department announced affirmative preliminary findings on 23 April in its antidumping investigation into crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells from the three countries. At the time, it estimated India’s preliminary dumping margin at 123.04%, with an adjusted cash deposit rate of 107.77% for the listed Indian companies and all other companies. The final determination kept the dumping margin at 123.04% but set the adjusted cash deposit rate at 107.17%. The difference reflects that the dumping margin and adjusted cash deposit rate are separate figures in the department’s determinations. The 123.04% figure applies to the dumping margin, not the final cash deposit rate.
The investigation covers crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether imported on their own or assembled into solar modules. That scope includes cells used to manufacture modules, as well as cells imported alone. Coalitions of U.S. manufacturers filed the petition that launched the investigation. Their members include Hanwha Q CELLS USA, First Solar and Mission Solar Energy. The case links imports of cells and modules to the dumping and subsidy claims examined in the two investigations. The International Trade Commission then assessed the imports’ effect on U.S. industry and found material injury.
U.S. trade data show that the value of imports of solar cells and modules from India rose from 83,865,782 dollars in 2022 to 792,648,250 dollars in 2024. Over the same period, import volume increased from 232,420,657 watts to 2,297,306,441 watts. The data thus compare two years and show increases in both value and volume over the period. These figures provide context for the scale of trade covered by the case before the preliminary and final determinations. They relate to U.S. imports from India and do not, on their own, show results for the other countries under investigation. The next announced step is publication of the commission’s report by 23 November 2026.
Regarding Waaree Energies, the company said its installed capacity is 25.8 gigawatts for solar modules and 5.4 gigawatts for cells. It also said its annual solar module production reached 12.6 gigawatts in fiscal 2026. The company’s figures distinguish installed capacity from annual production: the former describes available capacity, while the latter is what it produced during the fiscal year. On an earnings call published in May 2026, company officials said the cells’ origin determines the duties applied to a solar module exported to the United States. They added that they use Ethiopian cells for the U.S. market, linking this to duties of about 123% announced on Indian cells in April. This account puts the cell supply route at the center of how the company approaches the U.S. market.
India is due to release its October consumer price index on 12 November 2026, according to the date announced by the Ministry of Statistics, or on the next working day if the date falls on a holiday. The preliminary reading for annual inflation was 5.54% in September. Annual food inflation was 7.74% in the same month, according to the preliminary reading. The October release date follows those two readings, while the available facts include no official estimate for the coming month’s rate. The index release is the next scheduled Indian economic development in this case, following the U.S. duty determinations and the forthcoming International Trade Commission report.