PVTIME – Official United States customs statistics indicate that solar cell imports totalled 8,188MW for the January–June period of 2026. This represents a 49% year-on-year decrease compared to the 16,182MW recorded in the first half of 2025.
Monthly import volumes increased steadily from early 2024, peaking at 3,523MW in June 2025. There were fluctuations in the following months, with figures of 2,910MW in November and 904MW in December. Deliveries saw modest growth in the first quarter of 2026, remained steady between March and April, and then climbed sharply to 2,191MW in June.
This substantial decline in shipments over the first half of the year reflects weakened market demand, shaped by national-level trade rules, growing domestic module-making capacity, and industry-wide inventory adjustments. The five largest supplying regions are South Korea, Thailand, Ethiopia, Malaysia and Kenya, with respective shipment capacities of 2,602MW, 1,632MW, 1,057MW, 785MW and 468MW. One year ago, Southeast Asian nations dominated supplies, before anti-dumping and countervailing duty policies reduced their market share. New exporting territories have increased deliveries and diversified supply chain layouts.
In May 2026, local solar-panel manufacturers called for federal trade inquiries into Ethiopian-made goods, arguing that overseas producers were evading import tariffs by carrying out final-stage assembly in Ethiopia. Trade value from Ethiopia remained minimal before June 2025, exceeding 300 million US dollars by the end of that year. This rapid expansion coincides with the timeline of previous tariff increases and overseas market investigations targeting Asian suppliers.
The national administration has recently issued the final outcomes of the Section 232 polysilicon trade review. A 15% import tariff will apply to all polysilicon-based photovoltaic commodities, including wafers, cells, and finished modules, regardless of their country of origin. This regulation will take effect on 4 December 2026, following a 120-day implementation period.
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