US Proceedings against Chinese Solar Panels Continue; Beijing Denies Harm for US Manufacturers

Cheap solar panel imports from China have substantially hurt US manufacturers, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) preliminarily found on 2 December. Following this early assessment, six ITC members unanimously decided to continue investigating the alleged subsidisation and dumping of imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) cells and modules from China.

The assessment and vote follows the ITC’s decision on 9 November to react to a petition to curb unfair imports submitted by SolarWorld Industries America Inc. and the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM).

Washington’s decision to continue proceedings comes only days after Beijing confirmed that it was conducting its own investigation on Washington’s renewable energy support. Beijing’s probe will cover wind energy, solar, and hydro technology products. The investigation is expected to end by 25 May 2012.

The complainants argue that “massive state subsidies and sponsorship have enabled Chinese manufacturers to illegally dump their products into a wide-open US market [despite the lack of] a production cost advantage.”

However, Beijing has expressed doubts over the grounds on which ITC determined the economic harm of Chinese imports.

The 2 December decision marks the first step in countervailing and anti-dumping duty investigations. The ITC will now continue its probes on the alleged subsidisation and dumping, the outcomes of which are expected on 12 January 2012 and 22 March 2012, respectively.