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Duties Set by U.S. on Imports of China, Taiwan Solar Goods
By Mark Drajem Dec 16, 2014 7:03 PM ET
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-16/duties-set-by-u-s-on-imports-of-china-taiwan-solar-products.html

The Obama administration will set duties on solar products from China and Taiwan that combined could exceed more than 200 percent, adding fuel to a renewable-energy clash between the U.S. and China.

The Commerce Department also finalized today its plan to include in the tariffs any solar panels assembled in China, no matter the origin of the cells.

The department issued final duties on solar cells manufactured in China and Taiwan in a case brought by SolarWorld AG (SWVK), a German company with a factory in Oregon. The U.S. International Trade Commission must rule in the last step before the tariffs are finalized. A decision is due next month.

SolarWorld, based in Bonn, persuaded the Commerce Department in 2012 to apply tariffs on imports of solar cells from China. After the tariffs kicked in, imports of panels with cells made in Taiwan boomed, and SolarWorld a year ago said Chinese makers had shifted production to skirt the U.S. tariffs.

“These remedies come just in time to enable the domestic industry to return to conditions of fair trade,” Mukesh Dulani, U.S. president of SolarWorld, said in a statement. “The tariffs and scope set the stage for companies to create new jobs and build or expand factories on U.S. soil.”

A group that opposed the tariffs, the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, said the decision would undercut the growth of the industry in the U.S.
Undermines Pledges

“Taxing solar trade undermines both the spirit and efficacy of pledges made by the U.S. and China to Work together in the battle against global warming,” coalition president Jigar Shah said in an e-mailed statement.

Hanwha Solar (HSOL), a South Korean company with a cell factory in Malaysia, had tried to fend off the proposal to expand the penalties, saying it would get punished for making its cells outside of China.

The final duties set today include an increase in tariffs on products from China, and a 5 percentage point reduction in duties on those from Taiwan compared to the proposed rates set out earlier this year.

The department had set preliminary subsidy rates of up to 49.79 percent on imports from China, and dumping rates that averaged 52.13 percent for most importers for China. The highest dumping rate was set at 165.04 percent. Taiwanese producers face duties ranging from 11.45 percent to 27.55 percent, the department said.


http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2014/12/commerce_department_solar_pane.html

The Commerce Department on Tuesday locked in steep tariffs on Chinese and Taiwanese solar products in an effort to protect domestic makers of solar cells and panels.

SolarWorld Industries America Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of the German SolarWorld, has led the trade battle over allegations Chinese companies were benefiting from subsidies and "dumping" solar panels into the U.S. market below cost in an effort to undercut their competition. SolarWorld manufactures solar panels and cells at a plant in Hillsboro.

The United States has been collecting tariffs on Chinese and Taiwanese solar products since earlier this year, when it issued a preliminary decision in this case.

Tuesday's action puts those duties in places for at least five years.

The U.S. International Trade Commission must also sign off on the duties approved by the Commerce Department. That vote is expected Jan. 20.

Others in the solar industry, like panel installers, have opposed the tariffs, saying they drive up the cost of solar energy and slow wider adoption.

SolarWorld, meanwhile, has announced an expansion of its Hillsboro operations. Added capacity there will go online in January, and the company planned to increase the size of its workforce from 700 to 900.