Solar panel industry slams US probe

Companies opposed to investigation over alleged dumping

Chinese solar panel manufacturers and industrial bodies expressed strong opposition on Wednesday to renewed US probes of China's solar power exports and hope to end this trade dispute through talks before the US makes a preliminary decision in early June.

In a joint statement released Wednesday in Shanghai, Yingli Green Energy Holdings Co, Trina Solar Ltd, Canadian Solar Inc and major industrial bodies including China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products denied that Chinese manufacturers sold solar power products in the US below the market value and China illegally subsidizes these products.

The companies and industrial associations urged the US and Chinese governments to settle the trade dispute through negotiations and said the US move can hinder the development of solar energy industry in both China and the US and harm the US economy and employment.

The US Department of Commerce announced in January it would launch anti-dumping and anti-countervailing investigations to solar power products imported from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

The investigations were initiated in order to respond to a complaint filed by SolarWorld, the US unit of German solar panel manufacturer.

The company said at the end of last year that it wanted to close a loophole in import duties imposed in 2012 which allowed Chinese mainland manufacturers to bypass duties by sourcing panels from Taiwan.

In November 2012, the US imposed anti-dumping duties on solar panel imports from the Chinese mainland as high as 249.96 percent and countervailing duties up to 15.97 percent.

Trade rows have intensified in recent days as the US charged Monday five members of the Chinese military for alleged cyber theft of trade secrets of US companies including the US unit of SolarWorld. China denied these charges on the same day and summoned US diplomats to protest against the US indictment.

"SolarWorld renewed the complaints because it failed to get out of its financial plight as its products cannot be distinguished from those of its competitors even after the US levied steep duties on Chinese solar products," Miao Liangsheng, chairman and CEO of Yingli Green Energy, a major solar panel producer in China, told the Global Times Wednesday.

According to Miao, the US market accounted for less than 20 percent of major Chinese solar panel manufacturers' exports as they adjusted their strategy and reduced exports to the US after the previous duties.

"We are concerned other importers might follow the US, which will deal a heavy blow to China's solar industry as it has just seen business pick up," Miao said.

China's solar industry had been hit badly following the steep duties levied by the US in 2012, and was also further affected by serious production overcapacity.

In July 2013, the State Council, China's cabinet, announced measures to promote the country's solar energy industry by encouraging mergers and consolidation and set a goal of total installed solar power generating capacity of over 35 gigawatts by 2015.

By the end of 2013, China's on-grid installed solar power generating capacity reached 19.42 gigawatts, with 12.92 gigawatts being added in 2013 alone, according to the National Energy Administration in April.

"Chinese solar companies have made great progress since 2012 by improving their competitiveness to produce more high-end solar products and reduce the reliance on exports," Meng Xian'gan, deputy director of the China Renewable Energy Society, told the Global Times Wednesday.

"But the new probes by the US will throw the Chinese manufacturers into difficult times again," Meng said.

The US is also divided about the investigations.

Jigar Shah, president of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, a coalition of US solar companies, was quoted by Reuters as saying in January that SolarWorld was "looking to single-handedly kill US solar jobs."

The US Department of Commerce is scheduled to announce the preliminary anti-countervailing decision on June 2 and the anti-dumping decision in July.