The term ‘trade war’ has been appearing in headlines increasingly in relation to a solar stoush between the USA and China. In a nutshell, here’s what it’s all about.
As the solar industry and supporting government policies deliver on their promise of panel price reductions for consumers and competition heats up, the manufacturing herd will be thinned – but no-one is going down without a fight and some companies believe the fight isn’t fair.
Spearheaded by SolarWorld, a German company, a group called CASM has filed antidumping petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) claiming Chinese manufacturers are illegally dumping crystalline silicon solar cells into the U.S. market and are receiving illegal subsidies.
CASM claims: “China’s predatory and illegal aggression is crippling the U.S. industry.”
But not everyone in the industry agrees.
Another group, CASE, says competition is making affordable solar energy a reality and CASM’s action to block or dramatically curtail solar cell imports from China places that goal at risk.
Among CASE supporters are, of course, Chinese solar cell and panel manufacturers. However, some of those companies have manufacturing facilities in the USA and are providing Americans with jobs.
CASE member, Suntech, said of the petition late last month: “As a global company listed on the NYSE, we are confident in our position and well-prepared to substantiate our strict adherence to fair international trade practices.”
The investigation into CASM’s claims are expected to take around a year. The group says if the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission apply penalties on Chinese manufacturers, the Chinese government could appeal to the World Trade Organization by objecting to the U.S. government findings on trade remedies.
As for the Chinese Government’s view of the situation, it could probably be summarised as “not happy, Barack”. According to an article on SolarServer, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has accused the USA of “intentionally causing trade friction and damaging its own PV industry”.
