New Delhi: The US has imposed a 126% tariff on Indian solar product exports after two Adani Group companies – Mundra Solar Energy and Mundra Solar PV – withdrew from US investigations, the Indian Express reported.The Adani group companies had been identified as ‘mandatory respondents’ in the proceedings. Their non-participation resulted in an ‘Adverse Facts Available’ penalty from the US Department of Commerce, the anti-subsidy investigation report accessed by the paper said.The steep penalty was imposed sector-wide on February 20, according to the report.“We preliminarily determine that these non-responsive mandatory respondents (i.e., Mundra Solar Energy and Mundra Solar PV) withheld necessary information that Commerce requested, failed to provide information within the established deadlines, and significantly impeded this proceeding by failing to respond to Commerce’s Initial Questionnaire, either in whole or in part, by the applicable deadline,” the anti-subsidy investigation report stated.The US Department of Commerce found that the companies exported solar cells in large volumes over a short period and availed benefits under several Indian government schemes. These included the Advance Authorisation/Advance License Program, the Duty Free Import Authorisation Scheme, the Duty Drawback Program, and the Export Promotion of Capital Goods Scheme.The US also pointed to Indian dependence on China for solar imports. “According to information provided by the petitioner, the Indian solar cells industry is heavily reliant on imports from China, and that Chinese investment in India follows the Chinese solar industry’s trend of investments in production facilities in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam,” the report said.Ajay Srivastava, former trade officer and head of New Delhi-based think tank GTRI, told the paper the case became more “punitive” after the Adani-linked firms withdrew from the investigations in November last year.“Other Indian manufacturers like Waaree Energies participated as interested parties, but exporters not individually investigated are also currently subject to the same 125.9% preliminary rate. Commerce examined export-linked and duty-remission programmes, including Advance Authorisation, Duty Free Import Authorisation, Duty Drawback, RoDTEP and the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme. Because these benefits are tied to export performance, they are particularly vulnerable to countervailing duty findings,” Srivastava said.According to the anti-subsidy report, the department had begun countervailing duty (CVD) investigations on August 6 last year in response to a petition from a coalition of US solar manufacturers.The department had also adjusted the period of investigation from January 1, 2024-December 31, 2024 to April 1, 2024-March 31, 2025 based on requests from the Indian government as well as the Adani group.