The US Commerce Department on Tuesday
imposed steep duties on importers of Chinese solar panels made from
certain components, asserting that the manufacturers had benefited from
unfair subsidies.
The duties will range from 18.56 to 35.21 per cent, the department said. The decision, in a long-simmering trade dispute, addresses one of the
main charges in a petition brought by the manufacturer SolarWorld
Industries America. While it is preliminary, the ruling means that the
US will begin collecting the tariffs in advance of the final decision,
expected later this year. “Today is a strong win for the US solar industry,” said Mukesh
Dulani, president of SolarWorld Industries America, based in Hillsboro,
Ore. “We look forward to the end of illegal Chinese government
intervention in the US solar market, and we applaud Commerce for its
work that supports fair trade.”
The decision comes against a backdrop of increasing trade conflict
driven at least partly by a rapidly evolving industry whose centre of
manufacture and installation has shifted over the last decade from
Europe to Asia. Although the European Union settled a similar dispute
with China through negotiation, tensions have still bubbled. And the
United States is seeking to challenge India over the local content
requirements for its solar programme through the World Trade
Organization.
“You have all these manufacturers that are seeing this really rapid
change in their ability to sell into the market and the prices at which
they have to sell and who their competitors are,” said Shayle Kann,
vice-president for research at GTM Research, which tracks clean-tech
industries. “The solar market is growing, really volatile and strategic
for a lot of these countries.”
In 2012, the United States imposed duties of roughly 24 to 36 per
cent on imported panels made from Chinese solar cells – the final major
parts that are assembled into completed modules – after concluding that
Chinese solar companies had received unfair subsidies from their
government and dumped products on the American market below costs.
Source: BS
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