中國太陽能企業永遠靈活，走到美國關稅鞭長莫及的更遠地區（2/2）

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Chinese solar firms, ever-nimble, go further afield where US tariffs don't reach (2/2)

Mon, November 4, 2024 at 7:02 a.m. GMT+8·7 min read

Reuters - By Lewis Jackson, Phuong Nguyen, Colleen Howe and Nichola Groom

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PAIN IN VIETNAM

The most immediate visible impact of the latest U.S. tariffs, which have brought total duties to more than 300% for some producers, has been in Vietnam's solar sector.

In August, Reuters visited industrial parks in northern Vietnam owned by Chinese-owned companies including Longi and Trina Solar, and spoke with workers.

In Bac Giang province, hundreds of workers at a large factory complex owned by Longi Green Energy Technology's Vinasolar unit lost their jobs this year, two employees with knowledge of the matter said.

The company was using just one of nine production lines in the industrial park, one of them said.

In Thai Nguyen, another province, Trina Solar has idled one of its two factories making solar cells and panels, two employees there said.

The employees at both companies declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Longi did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. It said in June it had suspended output at a Vietnamese solar cell plant but did not provide details. Trina declined to comment. It said in June that some facilities in Vietnam and Thailand would be shut down for maintenance without elaborating.

While U.S. solar import data shows shipments from Vietnam up almost 74% through August, industry analysts have attributed the jump to the frontloading of exports to get ahead of this year's U.S. tariffs.

Vietnam's government did not respond to requests for comment.

NEW EXPORT BASES, US PLANTS

Chinese solar companies are flocking to Indonesia motivated by the tariffs on Vietnam, according to Indonesian industry ministry official Beny Adi Purwanto who cited Thornova Solar as an example. Thornova says on its website its Indonesian plant has annual capacity to build 2.5 GW of solar modules and 2.5 GW of solar cells for the North American market.

A new 1 GW Trina module and cell plant will be fully operational by end 2024 and will expand capacity, according to Beny. He noted China Lesso Group's solar module plant which [sic] has 2.4 GW in production capacity.

China-linked New East Solar also announced a 3.5 GW panel and cell plant in Indonesia last year.

The Chinese companies did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The shift to Indonesian production has been sharp and swift, according to one manager at a U.S. solar firm who was told by their Chinese supplier in Indonesia that they're inundated with big orders from major Chinese firms looking to export to the United States.

"The scale is totally different," said the manager who declined to be identified.

Solar exports from Indonesia to the U.S. nearly doubled to $246 million through August of 2024, according to federal data.

Solar companies seeking greener pastures in Laos include Imperial Star Solar. The firm, which has Chinese roots but most of its production in Cambodia, opened a Laos wafer plant in March slated to eventually have 4 GW in capacity.

The move, it said in a statement at the time, helped it sidestep U.S. tariffs.

SolarSpace also opened a 5 GW solar cell plant in Laos in September 2023. The primary purpose of transferring production capacity to Laos was not related to U.S. tariffs, the company said in a statement to Reuters but did not elaborate.

Solar exports from Laos to the U.S. were non-existent in the first eight months of last year but were worth some $48 million through August of 2024.

Others are going further afield.

JinkoSolar said in July it had signed an almost $1 billion deal with partners in Saudi Arabia to build a new 10 GW solar cell and module plant in the kingdom.

Construction of U.S. solar-manufacturing plants by Chinese companies is also surging as they too seek to take advantage of U.S. incentives.

Chinese companies will have at least 20 GW worth of annual solar panel production capacity on U.S. soil within the next year, enough to serve about half the U.S. market, according to a Reuters analysis.

Translation

中國太陽能企業永遠靈活，走到美國關稅鞭長莫及的更遠地區（2/2）

（繼續）

越南的痛苦

美國最新關稅使部分生產商的稅總額超過 300%, 對越南太陽能產業造成最即時見到的影響。

8月，路透社參觀了Longi、Trina Solar等中資企業在越南北部擁有的工業園區，並與工人進行了交談。

兩名知情員工表示，在Bac Giang省，擁有的大型工廠綜合體的Longi綠色能源技術公司的Vinasolar部門今年有數百名工人失業。

其中一位人士表示，該公司只使用了工業園區九條生產線其中的一條。

在另一個省Thai Nguyen，Trina Solar的兩名員工表示，該公司已停用其兩家間生產太陽能電池和電池板的工廠其中一間。

由於問題的敏感性，兩家公司的員工均拒絕透露姓名。

Longi沒有回應路透社的置評請求。該公司6月表示已暫停越南一家太陽能電池工廠的生產，但沒有提供細節。Trina Solar拒絕置評。該公司6月表示，越南和泰國的一些設施將被關閉進行維修，但沒有詳細說明。

儘管美國太陽能進口數據顯示，截至 8 月份，越南的出貨量增加了近 74%，但產業分析師將這一增長歸因於為趕在今年美國關稅之前的提前出口。

越南政府沒有回應置評請求。

新的出口基地，美國工廠

印尼工業部官員Beny Adi Purwanto以Thornova Solar為例表示，受越南關稅的牽動，中國太陽能企業紛紛湧入印尼。 Thornova在網站上表示，其印尼工廠每年有能力為北美市場生產2.5吉瓦的太陽能模組和2.5吉瓦的太陽能電池。

Beny 表示，新的 1 GW Trina光能組件和電池工廠將於 2024 年底全面投入運營，並將擴大產能。他指出，中國Lesso集團的太陽能模組工廠產能為2.4吉瓦。

與中國有聯繫的New East Solar去年也宣佈在印尼建造 3.5 吉瓦的電池板和電池工廠。

這些中國公司沒有回應路透社的置評請求。

一家美國太陽能公司的一位經理表示，轉向印尼生產是速迅的, 他被位於印尼的中國供應商告知，他們被那些希望出口到美國的中國大公司的大訂單所淹沒。

這位不願透露姓名的經理表示:「規模完全不同」。

根據聯邦數據，截至 2024 年 8 月，印尼對美國的太陽能出口幾乎翻了一番，達到 2.46 億美元。

在寮國尋求更廣闊發展前景的太陽能公司包括Imperial Star Solar。該公司紮根中國，但大部分生產在柬埔寨，於 3 月在寮國開設了一家晶圓廠，預計最終產能達到 4 吉瓦。

該公司當時在聲明中表示，此舉有助於其規避美國關稅。

SolarSpace也於2023年9月在寮國開設了一座5吉瓦的太陽能電池工廠。 該公司在給路透社的聲明中表示，將產能轉移到寮國的主要目的與美國關稅無關，但沒有詳細說明。

在去年的頭 8 個月，寮國向美國的太陽能出口尚未出現，但今年至 2024 年 8 月，價值約 4,800 萬美元。

其他人則走向更遠的地方。

JinkoSolar 7月表示，已與沙地阿拉伯的合作夥伴簽署了一項近10億美元的協議，將在該國建造一座新的10吉瓦太陽能電池和組件工廠。

中國公司在美國建造太陽能製造廠的數量也在激增，因為它們也尋求利用美國的激勵措施。

根據路透社分析，明年中國企業將在美國本土擁有至少20吉瓦的太陽能板年產能，足以服務約一半的美國市場。

              So, China accounts for about 80% of the world's solar shipments, while its export hubs elsewhere in Asia make up much of the rest. That is a sharp contrast to two decades ago when the U.S. was a global leader in the industry. While almost none came directly from China in 2023, some 80% came from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia, from factories owned by Chinese firms. While some Chinese companies are moving to Laos and Indonesia, the construction of solar-manufacturing plants by Chinese companies inside the US is also surging as they try to take advantage of U.S. incentives. I am wondering what further action the American can take to protect its solar-manufacturing industry.