In August 2025,the United States Court of International Trade(USCIT)delivered its final ruling on the case brought by Auxin Solar and other companies against the Biden administration.The court found that Proclamation 10414,which suspended import tariffs on solar cells and modules from Southeast Asia in 2022,had breached the law.The ruling,numbered 2025-ITC-0287 and signed by USCIT Chief Judge Timothy C.Stanceau,resolved the lawsuit filed jointly by seven domestic manufacturers against the administration.
The case originated from Presidential Proclamation 10414,which was issued by the White House on 6 June 2022.This measure granted a 24-month tariff exemption for solar cells and modules from Cambodia,Malaysia,Thailand,and Vietnam,waiving anti-dumping and countervailing duties from June 2022 to June 2024.However,the court found that the pause had enabled Chinese companies to circumvent US tariffs by establishing factories in Southeast Asia.
The Biden administration had invoked Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act to justify the pause on‘energy security’grounds,but the court ruled that the president lacked the authority to unilaterally revoke existing tariff regulations.
A supply chain audit report from Solar Energy Manufacturers of America(SEMA)showed that,during the pause,photovoltaic exports from the four Southeast Asian nations rose by 217%year on year,exceeding 120 GW.The judgment highlighted‘tariff evasion’by two leading Chinese module manufacturers in the region:their Vietnamese factories sourced 89%of their silicon from China,which is well above the≤40%threshold set by WTO rules of origin.The court concluded that the executive order had‘indirectly sanctioned illegal industrial chain relocation’.
US Customs may now impose retroactive tariffs on goods imported between June 2022 and June 2024,at rates of up to 254.66%.This affects around$54 billion worth of products,including utility-scale solar plants(62%),commercial and industrial distributed projects(28%),and residential solar systems(10%).
For businesses that rely on low-cost solar products from Southeast Asia,the ruling is a severe setback.Importers,developers and utility firms will face substantial additional costs for‘completed projects’,creating significant uncertainty within the industry.
Defendants and stakeholders are now preparing responses.These include appealing to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit,applying to suspend tariff collection during the appeal to ease short-term financial pressure,and pushing for policy changes via political channels to cancel or reduce retroactive tariffs.
Those involved include industry bodies and major enterprises such as the American Clean Power Association,BYD,Canadian Solar,Risen Energy and Trina Solar.
The USCIT has released a judgment summary,and the full non-confidential text is expected to be published in the‘Judgment Announcements’section of its website by the end of this week.Industry insiders expect the details in the full text to influence future appeals and anticipate that the‘solar tariff dispute’will continue to reshape US domestic manufacturing and the global solar supply chain.
The ruling will also restructure the US photovoltaic supply chain.The Solar Energy Industries Association predicts that US domestic capacity will rise to 40%by 2027,while international firms will need to adopt a dual-track model of‘tariff compliance and localised production’.
