First Solar to Withdraw TOPCon Section 337 Complaint From USITC

First Solar, Inc (FSLR ). announced on September 15, 2026, that it intends to voluntarily withdraw its Section 337 complaint and move to terminate the investigation pending before the US International Trade Commission (USITC) without prejudice to refiling at a later date. The company said it will continue pursuing its existing TOPCon patent lawsuits in US District Court, including cases against affiliates of Canadian Solar (CSIQ ), Jinko Solar, T1 Energy (TE ), and Trina Solar that were stayed pending the results of the Section 337 investigation.

First Solar also intends to continue efforts to enforce its global patent portfolio against other manufacturers it believes infringe its TOPCon patents, a process it paused following its Section 337 complaint. Jason Dymbort, the company’s general counsel, described the move as procedural. “This is a procedural decision that clears the way for our pending suits to move forward and for additional suits we anticipate filing, and we will continue to pursue any bad actors that infringe our patents,” Dymbort said. He added that the company appreciates the Commission’s consideration of its complaint and the professionalism and diligence its staff brought to the investigation.

Section 232 Action Cited by First Solar

First Solar said its decision follows the Trump Administration’s national security action on imports of polysilicon and its derivatives under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, an action the company characterized as aimed at loosening China’s grip on a critical supply chain. “The Trump Administration’s Section 232 action helps level the playing field at the border, and we are more determined than ever to enforce our IP rights and defend the rule of law here at home,” Dymbort said.

The presidential proclamation, issued on August 6, 2026, established minimum import prices of $21 per kilogram for polysilicon, $100 per kilogram for polysilicon ingots and wafers, $0.22 per watt for solar cells, and $0.38 per watt for solar modules. Under the program, US Customs and Border Protection will permit importers to submit documentation at entry certifying that the first arm’s-length sale of the merchandise in the United States will occur at or above the applicable minimum import price, or that the sale is pursuant to fixed terms in a contract entered into before the proclamation’s signing. Merchandise entered without that documentation faces a specific tariff equal to the applicable minimum import price, and merchandise documented but entered at a value below the minimum price faces a specific tariff equal to the difference.

Effective for goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on December 4, 2026, imports of polysilicon ingots and polysilicon derivatives carry an additional 15 percent ad valorem duty. A 10 percent rate applies to products of the United Kingdom. For products of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, or a member nation of the European Union, the sum of the Section 232 duty and the applicable Column 1 duty rate under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule equals 15 percent.

The proclamation also authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to approve company-specific onshoring plans under which approved companies may import production equipment and covered products, in volumes the Secretary deems commensurate with newly committed investment, without paying the Section 232 duties. Plans must include a commitment to build, refurbish, or expand a US facility producing polysilicon, ingots, wafers, or cells, with construction starting by January 20, 2029.

Findings by the Secretary of Commerce cited in the proclamation state that the US share of global polysilicon production capacity fell from 50 percent in 2005 to less than 2 percent in 2024, and that global polysilicon production has grown by more than 270 percent since 2020, with inventories reaching a record 400,000 tons by the end of 2024.

The USITC Case and the TOPCon Patent Portfolio

The investigation First Solar is moving to terminate, 337-TA-1494, was instituted by the USITC on March 26, 2026, based on a complaint filed on the company’s behalf on February 24, 2026, and supplemented on March 10, 2026. The complaint alleged violations of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States of certain TOPCon solar cells, modules, panels, components thereof, and products containing same that infringe certain claims of the asserted patent. First Solar requested that the Commission issue a general exclusion order or, in the alternative, a limited exclusion order, together with cease and desist orders.

Respondents identified by the USITC included entities affiliated with AXITEC, Canadian Solar, JA Solar, JinkoSolar, Mundra Solar and Adani Green Energy (ADANIGREEN.BO ), Philadelphia Solar, Hanwha Q CELLS, Runergy, Trina Solar, T1 Energy, VSUN, and Toyo, located in the United States, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Jordan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan.

When it instituted the investigation, the USITC stated that it had not made any decision on the merits of the case. Under the process the Commission described, its chief administrative law judge would assign the case to an administrative law judge, who would schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing and issue an initial determination subject to Commission review, with a final determination to follow at the earliest practicable time and a target date for completion to be set within 45 days of institution. Remedial orders in Section 337 cases take effect when issued and become final 60 days later unless disapproved for policy reasons by the US Trade Representative within that period, the Commission said.

First Solar obtained the US TOPCon patents and related international counterparts through its 2013 acquisition of TetraSun, Inc. The portfolio includes issued patents in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, with validities extending to 2030 and beyond, as well as pending patent applications in the European Union, Japan, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. In July 2024, First Solar announced its intention to license and enforce the TOPCon technology patent portfolio and launched infringement investigations against several leading crystalline silicon solar cell manufacturers.

First Solar states that it operates the largest solar technology manufacturing and research and development footprint in the Western Hemisphere, with five operational manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Louisiana, and Ohio and a sixth plant under construction in South Carolina whose first phase is expected to begin operations in the second half of 2026. The company expects to have invested more than $5 billion in American manufacturing and research and development infrastructure since 2019 by the end of 2026, and it forecasts approximately 17 gigawatts of US module manufacturing capacity by 2027 with no dependence on Chinese crystalline silicon supply chains.

A study commissioned by First Solar and conducted by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, released in 2026, estimated that the company supported nearly 30,000 American jobs and $3.0 billion in labor income in 2025 while contributing approximately $5.8 billion to US gross domestic product. The analysis projects that by 2027 the company will support more than 39,000 jobs and $4.0 billion in labor income and contribute approximately $7.8 billion to US GDP.