The National Energy Council (DEN) has revealed that the domestic\nsolar panel industry is currently facing serious pressure due to high\ntariffs imposed by the United States (US). Export barriers to the US\nhave resulted in suboptimal absorption of domestic production\ncapacity.<\/p>\n
DEN member Sripeni Inten Cahyani stated that Indonesia actually has a\nsolar panel production capacity of around 11 Gigawatts (GW) per year.\nThis capacity comes from about 5 GW for domestic needs and around 6 GW\npreviously targeted for export markets.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurrently, national production is 5 plus the current export,\nreaching around 6. So the total is 11 GW of PLTS production,\u201d said\nSripeni in Jakarta on Tuesday (21\/4\/2026).<\/p>\n
However, the US policy of high tariffs on imported solar panel\nproducts, reported to reach up to 120%, makes it difficult for\nIndonesian products to enter that market. As a result, production\npreviously allocated for export is now piling up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith taxes of 120% on some and 80% on others. Isn\u2019t that crazy? So\nthey can\u2019t go there. Now it\u2019s piling up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
This situation is being directly felt by industry players. One of\nthem is PT Trina Mas Agra Indonesia, located in Kendal, Central Java.\nThe factory, with a production capacity of around 1 GW per year, is\nreported to be experiencing operational disruptions due to minimal\nmarket absorption since the start of production.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause there\u2019s been no absorption since production started; only\nthe quota PLTS is absorbing. That\u2019s why, as mentioned earlier, from 1.5\nGW, the quota PLTS has truly become the dark horse,\u201d said Sripeni.<\/p>\n
As is known, after the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) between\nIndonesia and the United States (US) was signed on Thursday, 19 February\n2026, US President Donald Trump suddenly dealt a blow to Indonesia\u2019s\nsolar panel industry.<\/p>\n
Trump imposed retaliatory import duties (countervailing duty) of\n104.38% on solar cells and panels imported from Indonesia. This Trump\npolicy is also applied to similar products from India and Laos.<\/p>\n
Not only that, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) imposed individual\ntariffs on several Indonesian companies, namely PT Blue Sky Solar at\n143.3%, while PT REC Solar Energy at 85.99%.<\/p>\n
The reason for these tariffs is to support similar factories in the\nUS and claims that solar panel companies in Indonesia, India, and Laos\nhave received subsidies from their governments. This has made products\nfrom similar industries in the US uncompetitive.<\/p>\n
The reasoning used by the US feels like a severe blow to Indonesia.\nHow not? With the ART pact already signed, Indonesia must provide\nmaximum preferential treatment for US goods entering the domestic\nmarket.<\/p>\n
In addition to 99% of US products enjoying tariff elimination and\naccess to Indonesia\u2019s 280 million population market, they will also\nproceed freely without having to comply with Indonesian technical\nregulations. And, if there are technical regulations, they must refer to\nUS standards.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/due-to-us-policies-indonesian-solar-panel-factories-face-disruption-1776779471", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }