Published 4/22/2025 18:31 | Edited 04/22/2025 19:45
The announcement of the United States Department of Commerce that it intends to impose massive rates on imports of solar panels made in Southeast Asia – with rates that reach 3,521% – launches Vietnam at the center of a commercial dispute that goes far beyond clean energy. Like one of the four affected countries – alongside Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia – Vietnam finds itself forced to balance economic interests with a delicate political position between China and the USA.
Governed by the Communist Party, such as China, but with increasing commercial and military ties with Washington, Vietnam now faces the risk of seeing its powerful solar industry – which has benefited from Chinese investments and production transfer to prevent previous rates – becoming the target of new barriers.
Some companies in Cambodia face the highest rates of 3,521% due to what was seen as a lack of cooperation with the investigation of the Department of Commerce. Malaysian products by Chinese Solar Jinko faced some of the lowest rates of just over 41%. Chinese solar Chinese faces 375% rates on the products it manufactures in Thailand, while Vietnam are subject to a 58% to 271% tax. Laos and Indonesia imports are increasing gradually without being affected by tariffs.
Solar and Strategic: The Role of Vietnam in the Global Chain
In recent years, Vietnam has consolidated itself as a crucial link in the global solar technology supply chain, with its cheap labor and geographical proximity. Chinese companies such as Trina Solar and Jinko Solar have been manufacturing components in the country as part of a strategy to circumvent sanctions and tariffs imposed directly on Beijing since the Trump administration. The goal was to avoid applied overcrowders on “Made in China” products by manufacturing the same goods with local labor, benefiting from Vietnam’s most favorable business agreements with the US.
The new American measure, however, seeks precisely to curb this “tariff outsourcing” by claiming that Chinese subsidies still distort the market, even if manufacturing occurs on foreign soil. Donald Trump and the manufacturers who have enabled themselves to accuse China have always benefited from the same outsourcing practices, which are no longer convenient. However, the Chinese response was quick and assertive. Beijing imposed 125% retaliatory rates on American products and promised to “fight to the end.”
Although tariffs are officially directed to countries in Southeast Asia, it is evident that China is the real target of the American offensive. In the Vietnamese case, this endanger billions of dollars in annual exports of solar equipment, and directly affects local jobs and foreign investments in the sector. Especially because the solar energy sector is one of the main areas of economic growth in the country.
CROSSED INTERESTS: Vietnamese dilemma
The tariff pressure comes at a delicate time for Vietnam, which tries to maintain its diplomatic independence, in a stance known as strategic balance. While sharing with China a single party political system, Vietnam has also approached the US in areas such as Regional Security and Commerce – including during President Joe Biden’s visit to the country by 2023.
At the same time, Beijing has intensified efforts to prevent countries in the region to “give in” the influence of Washington. President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia – precisely the countries affected by tariffs – sought to show and encourage these governments to resist what the Chinese leader called “unilateral intimidation.”
Domestic impact and global risks
For the US, the measure aims to strengthen its national solar industry, pressured by competition from subsidized and cheaper products. The American Alliance Committee for Solar Energy Manufacture Gredited the announcement as a “decisive victory.” However, critics such as Solar Energy Industries Association warns that tariffs can, paradoxically, make solar energy out of the US itself by limiting access to affordable components. With this, Trump delays another advance towards energy safety.
Tariffs can seriously damage the advancement of renewable energy in the US. The Seia criticized the measure, arguing that it will make the imported solar cells used in the manufacture of panels in the US. This, in turn, can slow the energy transition and compromise ambitious climate goals.
The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, told the Financial Times Which believed that “Ukraine lessons have not yet been fully understood,” adding that there were three golden security rules: supply diversification, enough political predictability to allow companies to make long -term investments and global cooperation. There are increasing risks around the power supply, including wars in Ukraine and Gaza, climate crisis, attacks on submarine cables and cybers.
The global impact is also significant. By indirectly attacking China via his southeastern Asian -made partners, Washington signals that he is willing to expand the scope of the trade war. For countries such as Vietnam, which bet on green industrialization and integration with global value chains, the message of course: neutrality will not be enough to escape cross -fire between the two largest powers in the world.
The final decision on tariffs will be made in June by the US International Trade Commission. Until then, affected countries – especially Vietnam – should intensify diplomatic dialogues and consider commercial contracted. More than a dispute over solar panels, the episode reveals how energy and geopolitical transitions are intertwined.
Source: vermelho.org.br
