US imposes new import duties on Chinese solar products
America imposes duties after ruling the panels were made using Chinese government subsidies, in the latest solar trade spat between the nations
The United States has slapped new import duties on solar panels and other related products from China after the Department of Commerce ruled they were produced using Chinese government subsidies, potentially inflaming trade tensions between the two countries.
The US arm of German solar manufacturer SolarWorld filed a petition complaining that mainland Chinese manufacturers are sidestepping duties imposed in 2012 by shifting production of the cells used to make their panels to Taiwan and continuing to flood the American market with cheap products.
The new complaint seeks to close that loophole by extending import duties to also cover panels made with parts from Taiwan.
In a preliminary determination, the commerce department imposed duties of 35.21 per cent on imports of panels and other products made by Wuxi Suntech Power and five affiliated companies, 18.56 per cent on imports of Trina Solar and 26.89 per cent on imports from other Chinese producers.
China's Ministry of Commerce expressed its "strong dissatisfaction" with the US decision to impose the tariffs.
In a notice posted on its website, the ministry said the US had "ignored the facts" and abused trade rules to protect its own industry, adding that the use of trade measures "would not solve the development problems of the US solar industry".