Ethiopia Drawn into U.S.-China Solar Trade Dispute

¬ Eight U.S. solar manufacturers have urged the U.S. Department of Commerce to investigate Chinese companies operating in Ethiopia, alleging they are evading tariffs by exporting solar panels to the United States through Ethiopia

¬ By the end of 2025, U.S. imports of solar products from Ethiopia are expected to surge to approximately $300 million, making Ethiopia the seventh-largest supplier of solar products to the United States

¬ As competition intensifies between the U.S. and China over renewable energy supply chains, this dispute is placing increased pressure on Ethiopia’s rapidly growing solar manufacturing sector

On Tuesday, May 12, eight U.S. solar panel manufacturers submitted a petition to the U.S. Department of Commerce, requesting an investigation into what they describe as unfair trade practices by Chinese companies operating in Ethiopia. According to Bloomberg, the petition accuses these firms of shifting their assembly operations to Ethiopia and then exporting finished solar panels to the United States in order to circumvent U.S. anti-subsidy duties.

Before June 2025, U.S. imports of solar products from this East African nation were nearly zero, but in the following months, imports surged sharply, reaching about $300 million by the end of December. This growth has elevated Ethiopia to the position of the seventh-largest exporter of solar products to the United States, sparking concerns among domestic U.S. manufacturers.

"What we’re seeing in Ethiopia follows a well-known pattern. The U.S. solar manufacturing industry has reached a turning point—billions in investment, thousands of jobs created, and real production capacity coming online. We will not allow repeated tax evasion to undermine this progress," Tim Brightbill, partner at Wiley Rein and lead attorney for the eight petitioning companies, told Reuters.

Ethiopia's Solar Manufacturing Sector Faces Growing Pressure

The complaint comes amid heightened scrutiny of Addis Ababa by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Since December 2025, CBP has frozen $16.3 million worth of Ethiopian solar equipment under a law prohibiting imports—particularly those suspected of involving Chinese polysilicon supply chains.

Analysts say this new complaint is exacerbating the trade and regulatory pressures facing Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has been actively positioning itself as a hub for renewable energy equipment manufacturing, particularly solar products, leveraging its advantages in lower labor costs, modern industrial parks, and strategic geographic proximity to rapidly expanding markets in Africa and the Middle East. Several Chinese companies have announced major investments in the country.

According to China Global South, three companies—CSI Solar (a subsidiary of Canadian Solar), Hainan Delinda New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., and Toyo Solar Manufacturing Co., Ltd.—are planning to invest more than $500 million in Ethiopia to build production facilities for solar modules, cells, and energy storage systems.

These projects also include technology transfer programs, workforce training initiatives, and gradual expansion of manufacturing capacity. Ethiopia recently welcomed another factory—the Gebze Solar Cell Company—at the Hengjian Economic Special Zone, with an initial investment of $100 million for Phase I of its project.

More broadly, this dispute reflects the increasingly tense relationship between China and the United States over control of renewable energy supply chains and core technologies driving the global energy transition. China currently dominates nearly every link in the global solar value chain, producing over 80% of the world’s solar modules and a significant share of the polysilicon used in solar panels worldwide.

Source: ecofinagency

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1865211562910922/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s)