Solar firms decry US duty decision

Chinese industrial associations and solar companies expressed strong dissatisfaction Thursday with a final US decision to slap steep duties on solar panel imports from China, saying they reserve the right to launch legal actions in the US to protect their lawful rights.

Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) announced Thursday an investigation into alleged State subsidies for Chinese solar panel manufacturers following its decision in September to launch an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese solar panel imports.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) voted unanimously Wednesday that solar panel imports from China have materially injured US producers, approving the US Department of Commerce's prior decision to impose steep duties on Chinese solar companies for the next five years.

"The decision is disappointing. We hope the US and Chinese governments can sit down together to negotiate a solution acceptable to both sides, to prevent the case from stalling the development of the global solar industry and setting a bad precedent for the EU to follow," Gao Hongling, deputy secretary-general of the China Photovoltaic Industry Alliance, told the Global Times Thursday.

"We will focus on promoting consolidation within the industry to help Chinese solar companies survive the slump. At the same time, we will respond to the EU case, as the EU remain China's largest solar panel market," she said.

In a statement on its website Thursday, the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products said the US ruling has seriously distorted the current situation of the Chinese solar industry and China's solar-panel exports to the US, and the extra duties will seriously harm the sustainable development of global green energy and the interests of consumers.

"Chinese solar panel companies will reserve the right to protect their own lawful interests by lodging legal actions in the US or through multilateral trade negotiations," the statement said.

In its final decision last month, the US Department of Commerce announced it would levy anti-dumping duties on solar panel imports from China, ranging from 18.32 percent to 249.96 percent, as well as countervailing duties of 14.78 to 15.97 percent.

The decision was in response to a complaint by SolarWorld, the largest US solar panel maker, who accused Chinese companies of dumping solar panels in the US and receiving government subsidies.

"SolarWorld's hypocritical campaign has forced the fast-growing American solar industry to foot the bill for SolarWorld's competitive failures," E.L. "Mick" McDaniel, managing director of Suntech America, a US unit of Chinese solar maker Suntech Power Holdings Co, said in a statement on Suntech's website.

"Further damage can be prevented if governments engage in constructive dialogue to roll back protectionist barriers that limit our industry's ability to compete against fossil fuels," McDaniel said.

Despite upholding the extra duties, Wednesday's ITC ruling rejected the US Department of Commerce's finding of "critical circumstances," which would have made the duties retroactive. That part of the decision could save Yingli Green Energy, a major Chinese solar maker, $13.7 million in duties.

"Although today's decision was partially favorable for Yingli, we are saddened at the global ramifications of this case. We are in the midst of a global trade war now, and Europe will defend itself vigorously in the footsteps of the US decision," said Miao Liangsheng, chairman and chief executive officer of Yingli Green Energy, in a statement sent to the Global Times Thursday.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) did not return the Global Times' request for comment by press time. But responding to the US Commerce Department's decision last month, MOFCOM spokesman Shen Danyang said the US is hindering new energy development and sending a negative message to the world about trade protectionism.