U.S. Sets Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels

[alp227]

Source: NYT

The Commerce Department issued its final ruling Wednesday in a long-simmering trade dispute with China, imposing tariffs ranging from about 34 percent to nearly 47 percent on most manufacturers of solar panels and cells imported from the country.

For most of the Chinese manufacturers, the penalties are somewhat higher than those announced by the Obama administration earlier this year, when the government determined that Chinese companies were benefiting from unfair government subsidies and were selling their products below the cost of production, a practice known as dumping, on the American market. For the biggest panel maker, Suntech, the duties are significantly higher, moving to almost 47 percent from about 33 percent.

The trade case stemmed from a legal filing nearly a year ago by a coalition of manufacturers, led by SolarWorld, a German company with considerable manufacturing in the United States. The coalition contended that Chinese companies, which dominate global sales with a two-thirds market share, were competing unfairly in the American market.

At the same time, the European Union began the world’s largest anti-dumping case, covering solar panel imports from China that totaled $26.5 billion last year. European solar panel companies have asked officials in Brussels to open an anti-subsidy case as well.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/business/global/us-sets-tariffs-on-chinese-solar-panels.html

[yourout]

1. Good....it's about time.

[Fearless]

2. Good.

[triplepoint]

3. Too Little Too Late!

Last edited Thu Oct 11, 2012, 01:05 AM - Edit history (2)

Evergreen Solar--DOA
Solyndra----------DOA
Abound Solar-----DOA
A123 Solar--------DOA
UniSolar-----------DOA


Any questions? We seemed to have allowed China to dump their solar panels here because....maybe we owe them so god damn much money? So, go out and shop some more.........it's patriotic....if you ONLY buy USA-made products.

[Selatius]

4. Most of America's old manufacturing base is DOA now.

Go to any big box store. It says "Made In China."

The days where the United States produced most of its consumer goods are gone. It can't even manufacture consumer electronics anymore in large numbers without relying on Chinese industrial capacity.

This is the price of free trade. I'm not against trade per se. I'm just against economic suicide.

Trade should be done to benefit both sides, but what is happening today is nothing short of global labor arbitrage, a global race to the bottom with wages.

[pampango]

5. Obama has done plenty. It started in 2009.

The U.S. uses more than 300 anti- dumping and countervailing duty orders to shield American-made goods, from honey to bedroom furniture, against global competition it deems unfair and damaging to U.S. companies. About half the orders target iron and steel products.

China accounts for a third of all U.S. actions on imports, the most of any country, including about 100 anti-dumping and more than two dozen countervailing duty orders, according to the U.S. trade commission.

The Obama administration filed a trade complaint against China at the World Trade Organization in December 2010 over its support for wind-energy manufacturers through aid tied to the use of locally produced content. China agreed to end hundreds of millions of dollars in such subsidies, the U.S. trade office said in June."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-29/u-s-wind-tower-companies-seek-duties-against-china-vietnam-1-.html

--------------------------------
One of the first of these tariff orders was in 2009.

President Obama Opts for Import Tariffs on Chinese Tires

In one of his first major decisions on trade policy, President Obama opted Friday to impose a tariff on tires from China in response to complaints that a surge of imports had undermined the U.S. industry and contributed to the loss of more than 5,000 jobs.

The tariff will amount to 35 percent the first year, 30 percent the second year and 25 percent the third year. A federal trade panel had recommended a levy of 55 percent.

The decision represents a victory for the United Steelworkers union, which had filed the trade complaint under a section of U.S. law intended specifically to protect U.S. manufacturers from Chinese imports. China's government, tire importers and some U.S. tire manufacturers with plants overseas had strenuously objected to the measure.

"The President decided to remedy the clear disruption to the U.S. tire industry based on the facts and the law in this case," the White House said in a statement released Friday night.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/11/AR2009091103957.html

[triplepoint]

7. Obviously, Not Enough Anti-Dumping Legislation Was Done In the Past

Otherwise, we wouldn't be seeing this happen again. Timidity got the better of us with China. They needed to be dealt with on this issue very severely quite a long long time ago. Tariffs might bring back U.S.-based manufacturing. It will take quite an effort by Congress to pass meaningful and enforceable laws concerning this. I sincerely doubt Congress will do anything if we're still politically gridlocked in the next session. "Made in China" will continue to remain the norm, and we'll continue to be just their consumer colony.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

8. Could someone explain this

in a way that helps a layperson to understand, perhaps metaphorically even?

Thanks.