A worker makes solar photovoltaic products for export to the Europe an and US markets in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. The United States plans to impose antidumping duties as high as 165.05 percent on solar panel s and cells from the Chinese mainland. [Photo/Si Wei]
The Mini stry of Commerce on Monday urged the United States to handle disputes over solar trade "prudently".
The comment followed a preliminary decision by the US Commerce Department on Friday to extend punitive duties on Chinese solar products.
The department imposed anti-dumping duties as high as 165.05 percent on solar panels and cells from the Chinese mainland, on top of countervailing duties set a month earlier.
Producers from Taiwan also face anti-dumping duties of up to 44.18 percent.
"China strongly disapproves of the US action," an unidentified official from the trade remedies and investigations bureau of the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on the ministry's website.
The statement said the US government's latest investigation of Chinese solar products is increasing trade friction and could hurt the upstream and downstream sectors of the solar industry in both countries.
"The frequent adoption of trade remedies cannot resolve the US solar industry's development problems. We hope the US can prudently handle this investigation, quickly end investigation procedures and create a good environment for competition in the global solar industry," the statement said.
Trade friction is unavoidable, but governments have a responsibility to prevent it from harming China-US relations, the official said.
The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products also expressed its "strong disapproval" in a statement on Monday, saying the Chinese companies will "take every legal measure" to protect their rights and interests and firmly resist any individual company's "selfish" behavior that disturbs the global solar industry.
"The ruling is actually worse than expected. It is mainly focused on solar modules manufactured in the mainland that use solar cells made in Taiwan," said Li Rongkun, general manager of Phono Solar Technology Co Ltd, which is based in East China's Jiangsu province.
The latest round of investigations into Chinese solar products, which began earlier this year, are meant to "close a loophole" allegedly used by Chinese manufacturers since 2012, when the US imposed tariffs on solar cells made in the Chinese mainland.
The cells are the building blocks of solar panels. Chinese mainland companies have been able to avoid paying duties by assembling panels with cells made in locations such as Taiwan.
Li's company began to use Taiwan-made solar cells after the 2012 ruling, but the company now faces new tariffs of 165.05 percent, although a final ruling on the latest tariffs will not be made until December.
Exports to the US account for about 10 percent of Phono Solar's annual shipments, according to Li.
"We'll have to stop using Taiwan-made solar cells. There are two alternatives," said Li. "We can use mainland-produced solar cells, but then we'll have to pay the punitive duties set in 2012, which will be about 29 percent. The other option is to find an overseas contract producer" and avoid the duties entirely, Li said.
China's exports of solar products to the US have been declining because of multiple rounds of anti-dumping an d countervailing duties. In a ruling on July 14, the World Trade Organization said that some punitive US import duties on Chinese products, including solar panels, are inconsistent with US trade commitments and violate US commitments to WTO rules.
Jigar Shah, president of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, an organization that represents US installers, said the latest ruling is "another unnecessary obstacle for the US solar industry" that will hinder the deployment of clean energy by raising the prices of solar products.
"Due to these tariffs, previously viable projects will go unbuilt, American workers will go unhired, and consumers who could have saved money through solar energy may not be able to benefit," he said.
He urged the administration of President Barack Obama to reconsider how to handle solar trade dispute s and help negotiate a win-win settlement that supports growth across all sectors of the US solar industry.
China angered by U.S. protectionism
The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced on Monday that China is strongly dissatisfied with the United States for its anti-dumping and countervailing probes into Chinese exports of photovoltaic products.
"China is also strongly dissatisfied with the U.S. in leaving the photovoltaic trade dispute to escalate," the MOC announced after the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday set preliminary dumping margins on imported photovoltaic products from China.
The department made its preliminary affirmative determination that crystalline silicon photovoltaic products from Chinese mainland and Taiwan had been sold in the United States at dumping margins ranging from 26.33 percent to 165.04 percent, and 27.59 percent to 44.18 percent, respectively.
The MOC said that the U.S. disregarded facts and lacked legal support by using contradictory rules of origin against Chinese photovoltaic products frequently, which is abuse of trade remedy measures.
"Frequent use of trade remedy measures will not help the U.S. solve its own problems in its photovoltaic industry. China hopes the U.S. uses discretion during the probe and ends investigations as soon as possible," the MOC said.
It said that the U.S. trade remedy measures launched in 2012 against Chinese photovoltaic products had seriously affected the normal trade of such products.
The MOC said that trade disputes are unavoidable, and the U.S. government has the responsibility to put trade frictions under control before they impede Sino-U.S. trade and economic relations.
According to the U.S. commerce department, punitive duties would be imposed after both the Commerce Department and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) made affirmative final rulings, which are scheduled on Dec. 15, 2014 and Jan. 29, 2015, respectively. If the ITC makes a negative determination, the investigations will be terminated.
