Post by jeffolie on Oct 11, 2012 12:33:19 GMT -6
Obama's China solar panels tariffs 34%-47% if ITC oks
my jeffolie view: tariffs rightly should have been imposed long ago on China's solar panels. If Obama loses, then much of the solar tax credits most likely will no longer happen.
" ... The Commerce Department's ruling is final, but the tariffs won't go into effect unless the International Trade Commission determines that the underpriced panels are, indeed, injuring the U.S. solar industry. That decision is not expected until November. In a preliminary ruling, the ITC said such injury had occurred. ... seeks tariffs of 34% to 47% on solar panels imported from five dozen Chinese manufacturers and up to 265% for other Chinese suppliers. For China's largest manufacturer, Suntech, the 47% duties are significantly higher than the 34% the department recommended earlier this year."
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U.S. seeks stiff tariffs on Chinese solar panels
The Obama administration called Wednesday for stiff tariffs on solar panels imported from China, setting a tough stance in a year-long trade dispute that has split the U.S. solar industry.
Obama administration seeks stiff tariffs on solar panels from China
The year-long trade dispute has split the U.S. solar industry
October 11. 2012 - The Commerce Department issued a final ruling Wednesday that calls for hefty tariffs on Chinese-made solar panels, arguing China has been illegally "dumping" underpriced products on the U.S. market.
It seeks tariffs of 34% to 47% on solar panels imported from five dozen Chinese manufacturers and up to 265% for other Chinese suppliers. For China's largest manufacturer, Suntech, the 47% duties are significantly higher than the 34% the department recommended earlier this year.
The ruling comes amid a presidential election in which both candidates are talking tough on China. Yet the year-long trade dispute has split the U.S. solar industry.
Some manufacturers argue China's subsidies have made it difficult for them to compete, causing about a dozen American bankruptcies, such as Solyndra's, in the last 18 months. Other U.S. solar companies, primarily those that design, market and install solar panels, say tariffs could raise prices, inflame trade tensions and stunt the industry's rapid growth.
"While today's decision rightly shows that the U.S. will protect its rights in the global trading system, we're also learning that trade litigation alone is not enough to solve the complex challenges that exist between the U.S. and China," said Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group that did not take a formal position on the dispute.
"What is immediately clear is that the future must begin with diplomacy," Resch said in a statement, adding that U.S. and Chinese solar companies had a "productive working relationship" prior to the trade complaint.
In October, New Jersey-based MX Solar USA joined Oregon-based SolarWorld in filing a petition with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission. They alleged Chinese manufacturers were illegally dumping solar cells and panels in the U.S. market and receiving billions in illegal subsidies from their own government.
"Chinese leaders are well aware that their own companies break trade rules. They admit that fact in private conversations, but they do not do anything about it," said Melanie Hart, who analyzes China's energy policies for the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based think tank. "President Obama's increasingly tough trade stance against China has been a long time coming."
Some solar companies worry about the fallout. "We remain concerned about the growing global trade war, which will only hurt American solar industry jobs, growth and consumers," said Jigar Shah, president of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, which opposed the tariffs. "We believe that global competition is good for American solar consumers and companies. Fortunately, these tariffs will not stop the development of American solar energy."
The Commerce Department's ruling is final, but the tariffs won't go into effect unless the International Trade Commission determines that the underpriced panels are, indeed, injuring the U.S. solar industry. That decision is not expected until November. In a preliminary ruling, the ITC said such injury had occurred.
www.usatoday.com/story/money/2012/10/10/us-tariffs-chinese-solar-panels/1625679/
my jeffolie view: tariffs rightly should have been imposed long ago on China's solar panels. If Obama loses, then much of the solar tax credits most likely will no longer happen.
" ... The Commerce Department's ruling is final, but the tariffs won't go into effect unless the International Trade Commission determines that the underpriced panels are, indeed, injuring the U.S. solar industry. That decision is not expected until November. In a preliminary ruling, the ITC said such injury had occurred. ... seeks tariffs of 34% to 47% on solar panels imported from five dozen Chinese manufacturers and up to 265% for other Chinese suppliers. For China's largest manufacturer, Suntech, the 47% duties are significantly higher than the 34% the department recommended earlier this year."
---------------------------------------------------------
U.S. seeks stiff tariffs on Chinese solar panels
The Obama administration called Wednesday for stiff tariffs on solar panels imported from China, setting a tough stance in a year-long trade dispute that has split the U.S. solar industry.
Obama administration seeks stiff tariffs on solar panels from China
The year-long trade dispute has split the U.S. solar industry
October 11. 2012 - The Commerce Department issued a final ruling Wednesday that calls for hefty tariffs on Chinese-made solar panels, arguing China has been illegally "dumping" underpriced products on the U.S. market.
It seeks tariffs of 34% to 47% on solar panels imported from five dozen Chinese manufacturers and up to 265% for other Chinese suppliers. For China's largest manufacturer, Suntech, the 47% duties are significantly higher than the 34% the department recommended earlier this year.
The ruling comes amid a presidential election in which both candidates are talking tough on China. Yet the year-long trade dispute has split the U.S. solar industry.
Some manufacturers argue China's subsidies have made it difficult for them to compete, causing about a dozen American bankruptcies, such as Solyndra's, in the last 18 months. Other U.S. solar companies, primarily those that design, market and install solar panels, say tariffs could raise prices, inflame trade tensions and stunt the industry's rapid growth.
"While today's decision rightly shows that the U.S. will protect its rights in the global trading system, we're also learning that trade litigation alone is not enough to solve the complex challenges that exist between the U.S. and China," said Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group that did not take a formal position on the dispute.
"What is immediately clear is that the future must begin with diplomacy," Resch said in a statement, adding that U.S. and Chinese solar companies had a "productive working relationship" prior to the trade complaint.
In October, New Jersey-based MX Solar USA joined Oregon-based SolarWorld in filing a petition with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission. They alleged Chinese manufacturers were illegally dumping solar cells and panels in the U.S. market and receiving billions in illegal subsidies from their own government.
"Chinese leaders are well aware that their own companies break trade rules. They admit that fact in private conversations, but they do not do anything about it," said Melanie Hart, who analyzes China's energy policies for the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based think tank. "President Obama's increasingly tough trade stance against China has been a long time coming."
Some solar companies worry about the fallout. "We remain concerned about the growing global trade war, which will only hurt American solar industry jobs, growth and consumers," said Jigar Shah, president of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, which opposed the tariffs. "We believe that global competition is good for American solar consumers and companies. Fortunately, these tariffs will not stop the development of American solar energy."
The Commerce Department's ruling is final, but the tariffs won't go into effect unless the International Trade Commission determines that the underpriced panels are, indeed, injuring the U.S. solar industry. That decision is not expected until November. In a preliminary ruling, the ITC said such injury had occurred.
www.usatoday.com/story/money/2012/10/10/us-tariffs-chinese-solar-panels/1625679/