# India examines surge in solar cell imports from Ethiopia over China circumvention concerns 2026-08-06T02:26:24+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has asked the finance and commerce ministries to examine a sharp rise in solar photovoltaic cell imports from Ethiopia, suspecting Chinese manufacturers may be routing low-priced products through the country, Livemint reported. Commerce ministry data show these imports rose from zero to $202 million in 2025-26, 81% of India's $248.51 million in imports from Ethiopia that year, out of $686.67 million in bilateral trade, imports were $29.63 million in the current financial year to May. The ministry is examining whether trade rules, free trade agreements or least developed country customs benefits are being circumvented, after India imposed a 20% basic customs duty on imported solar cells and modules in February 2025. Ethiopia has emerged as a solar-cell hub on cheap hydroelectric power and low labour costs, and the US Commerce Department opened a circumvention inquiry in July. Global Trade Research Initiative founder Ajay Srivastava said factories there depend on Chinese or Chinese-linked inputs, processed with Ethiopia's cheap electricity and exported as Ethiopian-origin products. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The trade figures come from commerce ministry data as relayed to Livemint, and the suspicion of Chinese circumvention is attributed throughout to an unnamed MNRE official and to outside analysts rather than presented as an established finding. Srivastava's own caveat is that the surge may represent genuine manufacturing and value addition as readily as tariff-driven relocation, limited processing or rerouting of Chinese-origin goods, a distinction the ministry's inquiry has yet to resolve. The separate US Commerce Department inquiry covers Ethiopia-origin cells exported to the United States, directly or assembled into modules in Vietnam, rather than the flow into India. The outcome of both the Indian and US inquiries, not the raw import figures, is the fact that will settle the circumvention question. ## Coverage - www.livemint.com Tags: Ethiopia, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/india-to-probe-chinese-link-in-solar-cell-import-surge-from-ethiopia/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/india-to-probe-chinese-link-in-solar-cell-import-surge-from-ethiopia/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.