U.S. note 18(b)
(b) For the purposes of this note and the application of subheadings 9903.45.21 through 9903.45.29, inclusive, the following developing countries that are members of the World Trade Organization shall not be subject to the rates of duty and tariff-rate quotas provided for therein: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Island, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland [Eswatini], Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Yemen (Republic of), Zambia and Zimbabwe.
U.S. note 18(c)
(c)
(i) For the purposes of subheadings 9903.45.21 and 9903.45.22 and heading 9903.45.27, except as otherwise provided herein, the term “crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells” (“CSPV cells”) means crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells of a thickness equal to or greater than 20 micrometers, having a p/n junction (or variant thereof) formed by any means, whether or not the cell (or subassemblies thereof provided for in subheading 8541.42.00 and imported under statistical reporting number 8541.42.0010) has undergone other processing, including, but not limited to, cleaning, etching, coating, and/or addition of materials (including, but not limited to, metallization and conductor patterns) to collect and forward the electricity that is generated by the cell. Such cells include photovoltaic cells that contain crystalline silicon in addition to other photovoltaic materials. This includes, but is not limited to, passivated emitter rear contact cells, heterojunction with intrinsic thin-layer cells, and other so-called hybrid cells. Subheadings 9903.45.21 and 9903.45.22 include goods presented in cell form and which at the time of importation are not presented assembled into circuits, laminates or modules or made up into panels.
(ii) Subheadings 9903.45.21 and 9903.45.22 and heading 9903.45.27 shall not cover-
(1) thin film photovoltaic products produced from amorphous silicon ("a-Si"), cadmium telluride ("CdTe"), or copper indium gallium selenide ("CIGS");
(2) CSPV cells, not exceeding 10,000 mm 2 in surface area, that are permanently integrated into a consumer good whose primary function is other than power generation and that consumes the electricity generated by the integrated CSPV cell. Where more than one CSPV cell is permanently integrated into a consumer good, the surface area for purposes of this exclusion shall be the total combined surface area of all CSPV cells that are integrated into the consumer good; and
(3) CSPV cells, whether or not partially or fully assembled into other products, if such CSPV cells were manufactured in the United States.
(iii) Headings 9903.45.25 and 9903.45.27 shall not cover the following goods, whether or not separate statistical reporting numbers therefor may appear in chapters 1 through 97 of the tariff schedule: [(17)] [Provision deleted.]
(1) 10 to 60 watt, inclusive, rectangular solar panels, where the panels have the following characteristics: (A) length of 250 mm or more but not over 482 mm or width of 400 mm or more but not over 635 mm, and (B) surface area of 1000 cm 2 or more but not over 3,061 cm 2 ), provided that no such panel with those characteristics shall contain an internal battery or external computer peripheral ports at the time of entry;
(2) 1 watt solar panels incorporated into nightlights that use rechargeable batteries and have the following dimensions: 58 mm or more but not over 64 mm by 126 mm or more but not over 140 mm;
(3) 2 watt solar panels incorporated into daylight dimmers, that may use rechargeable batteries, such panels with the following dimensions: 75 mm or more but not over 82 mm by 139 mm or more but not over 143 mm;
(4) off-grid and portable CSPV panels, whether in a foldable case or in rigid form containing a glass cover, where the panels have the following characteristics:
(A) a total power output of 100 watts or less per panel;
(B) a maximum surface area of 8,000 cm 2 per panel;
(C) do not include a built-in inverter;
(D) where the panels have glass covers, such panels must be in individual retail packaging (for purposes of this provision, retail packaging typically includes graphics, the product name, its description and/or features, and foam for transport);
(5) 3.19 watt or less solar panels, each with length of 75 mm or more but not over 266 mm and width of 46 mm or more but not over 127 mm, with surface area of 338 cm 2 or less, with one black wire and one red wire (each of type 22 AWG or 24 AWG) not more than 206 mm in length when measured from panel edge, provided that no such panel shall contain an internal battery or external computer peripheral ports;
(6) 27.1 watt or less solar panels, each with surface area less than 3,000 cm 2 and coated across the entire surface with a polyurethane doming resin, the foregoing joined to a battery charging and maintaining unit, such unit which is an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (“ABS”) box that incorporates a light emitting diode (“LED”) by coated wires that include a connector to permit the incorporation of an extension cable.
(7) off-grid, 45 watt or less solar panels, each with length not exceeding 950 mm and width of 100 mm or more but not over 255 mm, with a surface area of 2,500 cm2 or less, with a pressure-laminated tempered glass cover at the time of entry but not a frame, electrical cables or connectors, or an internal battery;
(8) 4 watt or less solar panels, each with a length or diameter of 70 mm or more but not over 235 mm, with a surface area not exceeding 539 cm2, and not exceeding 16 volts, provided that no such panel with these characteristics shall contain an internal battery or external computer peripheral ports at the time of entry;
(9) solar panels with a maximum rated power of equal to or less than 60 watts, having the following characteristics, provided that no such panel with those characteristics shall contain an internal battery or external computer peripheral ports at the time of entry: (A) Length of not more than 482 mm and a width of not more than 635 mm or (B) a total surface area not exceeding 3,061 cm2;
(10) flexible and semi-flexible off-grid solar panels designed for use with motor vehicles and boats, where the panels range in rated wattage from 10 to 120 watts, inclusive;
(11) frameless solar panels in a color other than black or blue with a total power output of 90 watts or less where the panels have a uniform surface without visible solar cells or busbars;
(12) solar cells with a maximum rated power between 3.4 and 6.7 watts, inclusive, having the following characteristics: (A) A cell surface area between 154 cm2and 260 cm2, inclusive, (B) no visible busbars or gridlines on the front of the cell, and (C) more than 100 interdigitated fingers of tin-coated solid copper adhered to the back of the cell, with the copper portion of the metal fingers having a thickness of greater than 0.01 mm;
(13) solar panels with a maximum rated power between 320 and 500 watts, inclusive, having the following characteristics: (A) Length between 1,556 mm and 2,070 mm inclusive, and width between 1,014 mm and 1,075 mm, inclusive, (B) where the solar cells comprising the panel have no visible busbars or gridlines on the front of the cells, and (C) the solar cells comprising the panel have more than 100 interdigitated fingers of tin-coated solid copper adhered to the back of the cells, with the copper portion of the metal fingers having thickness greater than 0.01 mm;
(14) modules (as defined in note 18(g) to this subchapter) incorporating only CSPV cells that are products of the United States and not incorporating any CSPV cells that are the product of any other country.
(15) flexible fiberglass solar panels without glass components other than fiberglass, such panels having power outputs ranging from 250 to 900 watts;
(16) solar panels consisting of solar cells arranged in rows that are laminated in the panel and that are separated by more than 10 mm, with an optical film spanning the gaps between all rows that is designed to direct sunlight onto the solar cells, and not including panels that lack said optical film or only have a white or other backing layer that absorbs or scatters sunlight;