Skip to Content

How Will Tariffs on Solar Panels Affect Innovation?

A U.S. Commerce Department anti-dumping decision could help some U.S. companies and hurt others.

The United States Commerce Department concluded today that Chinese solar panel manufacturers are dumping solar panels in the U.S., and is penalizing them by imposing a 30 percent tariff on 62 solar manufacturers in China and a general 250 percent tariff on other solar panel manufacturers in China. That’s on top of a small tariff of 2.9 to 4.73 percent it announced earlier this year.

The decision may increase solar panel prices in the U.S. and will undoubtedly have political repercussions, as China has threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs. It could also have an impact on innovation, but exactly what that impact will be less clear. 

The new tariffs could help some solar panel companies in the U.S. that are working innovative technology get to market by raising prices here. But they could also hurt U.S. companies that supply materials and equipment to manufacturers in China, as well as installers who benefit from cheap solar panels imported from China. Many of these companies are also innovating—with new technology and financing models–to bring down the cost of solar, so hurting them could slow down progress toward solar power that’s cheap enough to compete without subsidies. One prominent solar researcher with ties to Chinese companies argues that trade barriers can only hurt innovation.

We break down the issues here, in a story we ran after the smaller tariff was announced in March.

The tariff decision is preliminary and may yet be overturned later this year.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

DeepMind’s cofounder: Generative AI is just a phase. What’s next is interactive AI.

“This is a profound moment in the history of technology,” says Mustafa Suleyman.

What to know about this autumn’s covid vaccines

New variants will pose a challenge, but early signs suggest the shots will still boost antibody responses.

Human-plus-AI solutions mitigate security threats

With the right human oversight, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence can help keep business and customer data secure

Next slide, please: A brief history of the corporate presentation

From million-dollar slide shows to Steve Jobs’s introduction of the iPhone, a bit of show business never hurt plain old business.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.