Cambodia’s solar industry has been dealt a heavy blow by punitive tariffs, leading to a steep decline in solar panel exports over the past two years. In 2023, exports to the United States totaled USD 2.1 billion, but in 2024 that figure plunged by nearly 60% to USD 830 million. The sharp drop has been linked to ongoing investigations by the US Department of Commerce, the imposition of tariffs, and a restructuring of global supply chains.
On June 6, 2024, the two-year tariff exemption under Presidential Proclamation 10414 expired. Thereafter, the United States reinstated anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) on solar cells sourced from Southeast Asia that relied on Chinese inputs. From that point, the situation for Cambodia’s solar industry began to deteriorate rapidly.
In April 2025, a final determination set tariff rates on Cambodian solar cells and modules as high as 3,403.96% for certain companies. Independent reports have even cited figures up to 3,521%. As a result, major exporters such as Hounen Solar and Solar Long PV Tech faced extreme pressure. Official records show that these firms were hit with higher duties after failing to fully cooperate with the investigation.
The situation worsened further in August 2025, when the United States moved to initiate potential anti-dumping and subsidy investigations into solar imports from India, Laos, and Indonesia. Earlier, countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam had already come under steep tariff regimes. In response, many Chinese-owned firms began considering shifting production to new destinations.
In Cambodia, several factories have already scaled back operations, and new orders bound for the US have declined sharply. The country’s Ministry of Commerce has denied allegations that Cambodian firms are merely re-exporting Chinese products, insisting that assembly and production are carried out locally. Nonetheless, growing tariff risks have clouded the future of the industry.
The impact is also significant for Bangladesh and the wider region. Utility-scale projects that rely on imported panels are likely to face higher costs and delivery delays. Sourcing from alternative suppliers, increasing local value-addition, and incorporating tariff-risk clauses into project contracts have now become critical. Likewise, factoring in AD/CVD-related risk premiums when evaluating international tenders could help reduce disputes in the future. Overall, Cambodia’s solar industry tariff crisis has added new cost pressures and uncertainties to the global renewable energy supply chain.
