Chinese solar producers no threat to US, trade panel told

Solar products from the mainland and Taiwan do not compete with US-made goods, foreign producers told the US International Trade Commission, as they seek to avert import duties.

The US arm of German solar manufacturer SolarWorld complained that mainland solar producers were able to sidestep duties imposed in 2012 by sourcing cells used in solar panels from Taiwan, and the US Department of Commerce has set preliminary duties on products from both markets.

"Chinese and Taiwanese imports have taken over the US market at precisely the time when US producers should have recovered and thrived. Instead, the US industry is again fighting for its survival," said Solar World counsel Tim Brightbill.

Several US solar firms on Monday told the ITC, which must rule on whether the imports hurt local producers, that they relied on imported cells because US-made alternatives did not meet the right specifications.

"US suppliers cannot supply the high-efficiency cells and high wattage modules that we use for our projects. For this reason, in our experience, the US solar products are not interchangeable with the solar products we import," said Polly Shaw, vice-president of government affairs at solar technology firm SunEdison.

Austin Chiu, general counsel for Taiwan's Neo Solar Power, also representing the Taiwan Photovoltaic Industry Association, said Taiwanese cells helped US module assemblers.