Washington — The Trump administration is investigating whether companies in four countries are selling utility-scale wind towers to US importers at prices below their fair value.

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The Commerce Department launched investigations to determine whether wind towers from Canada, Indonesia, South Korea, and Vietnam are being unfairly priced below market value. Commerce also wants to determine whether producers in Canada, Indonesia, and Vietnam are receiving unfair subsidies.

"Foreign companies that price their products in the US market below the cost of production or below prices in their home markets are subject to anti-dumping duties," Commerce said Tuesday in a statement. "Companies that receive unfair subsidies from their governments, such as grants, loans, equity infusions, tax breaks, or production inputs, are subject to countervailing duties aimed at directly countering those subsidies."

The department is examining 30 subsidy programs in Canada, 24 in Vietnam and eight in Indonesia.

In 2018, imports of utility-scale wind towers from Canada, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam were valued at an estimated $60.2 million, $37.4 million, $50 million and $21.4 million, respectively, according to the department.

Commerce said the investigations are based on petitions filed by the Wind Tower Trade Coalition, whose members include Arcosa and Broadwind Energy. The administration will impose duties on the imports if it and the International Trade Coalition finds that dumping or unfair price subsidies in home countries are causing injury to US companies.

Solar

The Trump administration in January 2018 imposed 30% tariffs on imported solar cells and panels to shield a pair of US manufacturers from foreign competition. That move followed a petition filed by bankrupt Suniva and SolarWorld Americas, whose German parent filed for bankruptcy in 2017.

If preliminary findings indicate that dumping and unfair subsidization are occurring, Commerce will instruct US Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from all US companies importing the products. If the administration finds that the products are not dumped or unfairly subsidized, or the ITC finds there is no harm to US industry, the investigations will be dropped without the imposition of duties. ITC will make its preliminary determination on harm to US companies by August 23.

-- Justin Horwath, S&P Global Market Intelligence, newsdesk@spglobal.com

-- Edited by Richard Rubin, newsdesk@spglobal.com