United States Imposes 104% Tariff on Indonesian Solar Panels; DEN Cites Export Surge

Jakarta—The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) officially announced on Tuesday the imposition of countervailing duties on solar cells and panels imported by companies in India, Indonesia, and Laos.

According to Reuters, the United States has established a general subsidy tariff of 125.87% for imports from India, 104.38% for imports from Indonesia, and 80.67% for imports from Laos.

Mari Elka Pangestu, Vice Chair of the National Economic Council (DEN), assessed that the policy emerged from US authorities’ concerns regarding significant increases in imports, particularly following production shifts from China and Vietnam, or transhipment activities.

“There may be factors that concern the Americans, and we also do not wish for what is called transhipment—whereby products from countries facing high US tariffs, such as China or Vietnam, enter Indonesia,” Mari Elka stated during the Squawk Box programme on CNBC Indonesia on Friday (27 February 2026).

Regarding solar cell and panel exports, Mari assessed the situation as more complex. Indonesia has indeed experienced substantial export growth, partly attributable to domestic production activities.

“In the case of solar panels, what appears to be happening is that there is genuinely high export growth from us because of the shift from China and Vietnam, and there is indeed solar panel production occurring here,” she said.

Mari explained that such sharp increases in imports typically trigger anti-dumping and countervailing duty instruments from the United States.

“This was detected because of high import growth, which occurred due to the shift from China and Vietnam, so we must be able to manage such situations,” she added.