USTR grants exclusions from duties on solar cells

   The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has granted exclusions from Section 201 global safeguard duties on solar panels, according to a Federal Register notice published Thursday.
   Effective on articles entered or withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption at or after 12:01 a.m. EST on Thursday, exclusions are granted to the following products:
   • Bifacial solar panels that absorb light and generate electricity on each side of the panel and that consist of only bifacial solar cells that absorb light and generate electricity on each side of the cells;
   • Flexible fiberglass solar panels without glass components other than fiberglass, such panels having power outputs ranging from 250 to 900 watts; 
   • And solar panels consisting of solar cells arranged in rows that are laminated in the panel and that are separated by more than 10 millimeters, with an optical film spanning the gaps between all rows that is designed to direct sunlight onto the solar cells, and not including panels that lack said optical film or only have a white or other backing layer that absorbs or scatters sunlight.
   USTR granted a first round of exclusions on Sept. 19, and while the agency will not consider further exclusions beyond Thursday’s notice, it will monitor developments in the U.S. market for crystalline silicon photovoltaic products and, if warranted, provide an opportunity to submit more exclusion requests at a later date, the agency said.