# Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells Whether or Not Partially or Fully Assembled Into Other Products: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Import Relief
**AGENCY:**
United States International Trade Commission.
**ACTION:**
Institution and scheduling of an investigation under section 204(d) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2254(d)).
**SUMMARY:**
Pursuant to section 204(d) of the Trade Act of 1974 (“the Act”), the Commission has instituted investigation No. TA-201-075, Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic (“CSPV”) Cells (Whether or Not Partially or Fully Assembled Into Other Products) (“CSPV products”), for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of the relief action imposed by the President on imports of CSPV products under section 203 of the Act, which terminated on February 6, 2026.
**DATES:**
February 6, 2026.
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Celia Feldpausch (202-205-2387), Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need special assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its internet server ( *https://www.usitc.gov* ). The public record for this investigation may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at *https://edis.usitc.gov* .
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
*Background.* —On January 23, 2018, the President, pursuant to section 203 of the Act (19 U.S.C. 2253), issued Proclamation 9693, imposing a safeguard measure on imports of CSPV products in the form of (a) a tariff-rate quota on imports of solar cells not partially or fully assembled into other products and (b) an increase in duties on imports of modules. The proclamation was published in the *Federal Register* on January 25, 2018 (83 FR 3541). The measure took effect on February 7, 2018, for a period of four years, or through February 7, 2022. The President imposed the measure following receipt of a report from the Commission in November 2017 under section 202 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2252) that contained an affirmative determination, remedy recommendations, and certain additional findings (see Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells (Whether or not Partially or Fully Assembled into Other Products), Investigation No. TA-201-75, USITC Publication 4739, November 2017).
On March 6, 2020, the Commission issued a report pursuant to a request from the United States Trade Representative under section 204(a)(4) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2254(a)(4)), regarding the probable economic effect on the domestic CSPV cell and module manufacturing industry of modifying the safeguard measure (see Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Partially or Fully Assembled Into Other Products: Advice on the Probable Economic Effect of Certain Modifications to the Safeguard Measure, No. TA-201-075 (Modification), USITC Publication 5032, March 2020). Subsequently, the President issued Proclamation 10101, determining that the domestic industry had begun to make a positive adjustment to import competition and modifying in part the action applicable to imports covered by the safeguard measure (85 FR 65639, October 16, 2020).
On December 8, 2021, in response to a petition seeking extension of the safeguard measure filed on behalf of Auxin Solar Inc. and Suniva and a petition filed on behalf of Hanwha Q CELLS USA, Inc., LG Electronics USA, Inc., and Mission Solar Energy LLC, the Commission issued its determination and report pursuant to section 204(c) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 2254(c)), finding that the safeguard measure continued to be necessary to prevent or remedy the serious injury to the domestic industry, and that there was evidence that the domestic industry was making a positive adjustment to import competition (see Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells (Whether or not Partially or Fully Assembled into Other Products): Extension of Action, Investigation No. TA-201-075 (Extension), USITC Publication 5266, December 2021). On February 4, 2022, the President issued Proclamation 10339 (87 FR 7357, February 9, 2022), pursuant to section 203(e)(1)(B) of the Act (19.U.S.C. 2253(e)(1)(B)), extending the safeguard measure on CSPV and parts thereof for an additional period of four years, or through February 6, 2026.
Section 204(d) of the Act requires the Commission, following termination of a relief action, to evaluate the effectiveness of the action in facilitating positive adjustment by the domestic industry to import competition, consistent with the reasons set out by the President in the report submitted to the Congress under section 203(b) of the Act. The Commission is required to submit a report on the evaluation to the President and the Congress no later than 180 days after the day on which the relief action was terminated. Section 204(d)(2) requires the Commission to hold a hearing in the course of conducting its evaluation.
For further information concerning the conduct of the investigation, hearing procedures, and rules of general application, consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, subparts A through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 206, subparts A and F (19 CFR part 206).
*Participation in the investigation and public service list.* —Persons wishing to participate in the investigation as parties must file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as provided in section 201.11 of the Commission's rules, not later than 21 days after publication of this notice in the *Federal Register* . The Secretary will prepare a public service list containing the names and addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties to the investigation upon the expiration of the period for filing entries of appearance.
Please note the Secretary's Office will accept only electronic filings during this time. Filings must be made through the Commission's Electronic Document Information System (EDIS, *https://edis.usitc.gov.* ) No in-person paper-based filings or paper copies of any electronic filings will be accepted until further notice.
*Limited disclosure of confidential business information (CBI) under an administrative protective order (APO) and CBI service list.* —Pursuant to 206.54(e) of the Commission's rules, the Secretary will make CBI gathered in this investigation available to authorized applicants under the APO issued in the investigation in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 206.17 of the rules, provided that the application is made not later than 21 days after the publication of this notice in the *Federal Register* . The Secretary will maintain a separate service list for those parties authorized to receive CBI under the APO.
*Hearing.* —As required by statute, the Commission has scheduled a hearing in connection with this investigation. The hearing will be held beginning at 9:30 a.m. on June 12, 2026. Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed in writing with the Secretary to the Commission on or before June 5, 2026. Any requests to appear as a witness via videoconference must be included with your request to appear. Requests to appear via videoconference must include a statement explaining why the witness cannot appear in person; the Chairman, or other person designated to conduct the investigation, may in their discretion for good cause shown, grant such a request. Requests to appear as remote witness due to illness or a positive COVID-19 test result may be submitted by 3:00 p.m. the business day prior to the hearing. Further information about participation in the hearing will be posted on the Commission's website at *https://www.usitc.gov/calendarpad/calendar.html* .
All parties and nonparties desiring to appear at the hearing and make oral presentations should attend a prehearing conference, if deemed necessary, to be held at 9:30 a.m. on June 10, 2026. Parties shall file and serve written testimony and presentation slides in connection with their presentation at the hearing by no later than noon on June 11, 2026. Oral testimony and written materials to be submitted at the public hearing are governed by sections 201.6(b)(2) and 201.13(f) of the Commission's rules. Parties must submit any request to present a portion of their hearing testimony *in camera* no later than 7 business days prior to the date of the hearing.
*Written submissions.* —Each party is encouraged to submit a prehearing brief to the Commission. The deadline for filing prehearing briefs is June 5, 2026. Parties may also file posthearing briefs. The deadline for filing posthearing briefs is June 22, 2026. In addition, any person who has not entered an appearance as a party to the investigation may submit a written statement concerning the matters to be addressed in the report on or before June 22, 2026. All written submissions must conform with the provisions of section 201.8, 206.7, and 206.8 of the Commission's rules; any submissions that contain confidential business information must also conform with the requirements of section 201.6 of the Commission's rules. Any confidential business information that is provided will be subject to limited disclosure under the APO (see above) and may be included in the report that the Commission sends to the President and the U.S. Trade Representative. The Commission's *Handbook on Filing Procedures,* available on the Commission's website at *https://www.usitc.gov/documents/handbook_on_filing_procedures.pdf,* elaborates upon the Commission's procedures with respect to filings.
Additional written submissions to the Commission, including requests pursuant to section 201.12 of the Commission's rules, will not be accepted unless good cause is shown for accepting such submissions, or unless the submission is pursuant to a specific request by a Commissioner or Commission staff.
In accordance with sections 201.16(c) and 206.8 of the Commission's rules, each document filed by a party to the investigation must be served on all other parties to the investigation (as identified by the public service list) and a certificate of service must be timely filed. The Secretary will not accept a document for filing without a certificate of service.
*Authority:* This investigation is being conducted under authority of 204(d) of the Trade Act of 1974; this notice is published pursuant to section 206.3 of the Commission's rules.
By order of the Commission.
Issued: March 13, 2026.
Lisa Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.