Solar Panel Manufacturing & Export

Vietnam — Vietnam has rapidly emerged as a significant solar panel production hub, driven primarily by Chinese manufacturers (LONGi, Trina, JA Solar) relocating assembly to avoid US tariffs on Chinese-origin solar products. Solar module exports from Vietnam exceeded $5 billion, making it one of the country's fastest-growing manufacturing sectors.

The tariff circumvention dynamic is the elephant in the room: the US Commerce Department has investigated whether Vietnamese-assembled panels using Chinese cells constitute tariff evasion. This creates regulatory uncertainty, but it also accelerates genuine value-chain development — manufacturers are increasingly producing cells (not just assembling modules) in Vietnam to satisfy origin requirements.

For Vietnam's energy transition, domestic solar manufacturing creates a positive feedback loop: local production reduces solar panel costs for Vietnamese installers, accelerating the country's own renewable energy deployment. Vietnam installed 16+ GW of solar capacity in a remarkable deployment surge, demonstrating that manufacturing and deployment can reinforce each other when industrial policy aligns incentives.