First Solar Fights Foreign Subsidies While Cashing In on Its Own

Long before panel-maker First Solar Inc. asked the US to penalize rival imports it says illegally benefit from foreign subsidies, the company began receiving similar incentives from some of the same countries.

America’s biggest solar manufacturer — which in April joined other companies seeking tariffs on solar cells from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam — has for 16 years reported a tax holiday awarded to its Malaysian subsidiary in US regulatory disclosures. The perk “generally provides for a full exemption from Malaysian income tax” and expires in 2027, according to a May filing.

First Solar’s Vietnamese subsidiary, meanwhile, benefits from government incentives that lower its tax bill ...