US solar makers accuse Toyo and Origin Solar of duty evasion in Ethiopia

The filing specifically names two companies – Toyo Solar Manufacturing, the Ethiopian subsidiary of Tokyo-based Toyo Co., and Origin Solar Manufacturing – alleging both are completing Chinese-origin wafers into solar cells in Ethiopia before assembling those cells into modules in Ethiopia or Vietnam for export to the United States. AASMT said trade data confirm that nearly 70% of finished solar modules from Ethiopia include components and processing already subject to existing tariffs.

US imports of Ethiopian solar products rose from zero in June 2025 to more than $300 million by the end of that year, according to AASMT. The coalition said the surge followed the imposition of Solar III antidumping and countervailing duty orders on Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam in June 2025, and the initiation of Solar IV investigations into India, Indonesia, and Laos in August 2025. AASMT said Toyo claims its wafers come from Indonesia, but that shipping data show Indonesia sent almost nothing to Ethiopia.

“What we're seeing in Ethiopia follows a familiar playbook,” said Tim Brightbill, partner and co-chair of the trade practice at Wiley Rein LLP, which represents the petitioners. “For over a decade, state-subsidized manufacturers have responded to US trade enforcement by relocating minimal finishing operations to the next available country, while continuing to source nearly all their inputs from the same foreign suppliers. American solar manufacturing is at an inflection point: With billions invested, thousands of jobs created, and real capacity coming online, we are not going to stand by and allow serial tariff evasion to undercut that progress.”

The eight companies that submitted the petition are DYCM Power, First Solar, Great Lakes Solex PR, Hanwha Q CELLS USA, Silfab Solar, Suniva, Swift Solar (trading as Solx), and Talon PV.

The original Solar I antidumping and countervailing duty orders were imposed on Chinese solar products in December 2012. Producers subsequently shifted operations to Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, triggering affirmative circumvention findings in 2023 and new Solar III orders in June 2025.

Imports from those four countries fell from $12.2 billion in 2023 to $1.3 billion in 2025, according to AASMT. Solar IV investigations into India, Indonesia, and Laos followed in August 2025, with Commerce issuing preliminary countervailing duty determinations on Feb. 26, 2026, and preliminary dumping determinations on April 23, 2026.

Toyo did not respond to a request for comment by publication time. The Japanese company began production at a 2 GW solar cell plant in Hawassa, Ethiopia, in April 2025, with plans to expand capacity and supply the US market. More recently, the US Department of Commerce set preliminary antidumping duties on imports from India, Indonesia, and Laos under the Solar IV case, further tightening scrutiny of solar supply chains linked to Chinese production.