A group of U.S. solar panel manufacturers has asked the U.S. Department of Commerce to investigate solar shipments from Ethiopia, alleging that companies are completing production there to avoid import duties on Chinese made solar products.

The filing is part of ongoing efforts by U.S. solar manufacturers to seek trade protection against low cost imports linked to Chinese producers.

According to the petition, Japan’s Toyo and Origin Solar Manufacturing are allegedly using Chinese made wafers to produce solar cells in Ethiopia. The filing claims the cells are then assembled into solar panels in Ethiopia or Vietnam before being exported to the United States.

U.S. trade rules prohibit companies from avoiding tariffs by routing goods through other countries with only minor processing changes.

The petitioning companies include First Solar Inc., Qcells, the solar manufacturing unit of South Korea’s Hanwha, and six smaller producers. First Solar and Qcells have both made major investments in U.S. solar panel manufacturing facilities.

Ethiopia has recently emerged as a growing solar manufacturing source for the U.S. market. The United States reportedly did not import solar energy products from Ethiopia until mid 2025. By the end of the year, imports from Ethiopia had reached USD 300 million, making the country the seventh largest solar importer to the U.S. market.

The United States has maintained anti dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese-made solar products for about a decade. Similar duties have also been imposed on solar products from Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam after Chinese firms expanded manufacturing operations in those countries.

Source: Reuters