ITC finds Chinese imports have hurt US industry

The Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing today applauded the U.S. International Trade Commission’s (ITC) preliminary determination that dumped and subsidized solar imports from China have harmed the U.S. domestic solar industry.

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In a unanimous 6-0 vote, the ITC found that Chinese imports are either materially injuring the domestic industry, or threaten the U.S. industry with such injury. As a result, both the ITC and U.S. Department of Commerce will proceed with investigations into whether antidumping and countervailing duties should be imposed to prevent further unfair losses of U.S. companies and jobs as a result of China’s anticompetitive practices.

“The ITC’s unanimous ruling underscores what American solar manufacturers have argued for months: Without any production cost advantage, dumping by Chinese solar manufacturers and massive subsidies by the Chinese government are enabling Chinese producers to drive out U.S. competition,” said Gordon Brinser, president of Oregon-based SolarWorld Industries America Inc., the largest U.S. manufacturer and leader of CASM. “Today’s ruling further erodes the credibility of denials by Chinese manufacturers and their importer allies in this case.”

Comprised of seven companies that manufacture crystalline silicon solar cells and panels in the United States, CASM supports SolarWorld’s allegation that Chinese solar cells and panels, heavily subsidized by the Chinese government, are flooding the American marketplace with artificially low prices intended to put the U.S. solar industry out of business.

The Department of Energy estimates that last year alone, the Chinese government provided its manufacturers with over $30 billion in subsidies, including $7 billion alone to one company, Suntech. As a result of a sprawling portfolio of Chinese subsidies, U.S. solar manufacturers have been forced to close or downsize their operations, leading to the elimination of nearly 2,000 high-tech American jobs in multiple states and the disruption of communities and local businesses. Among the direct solar job losses were 800 jobs in Massachusetts, 117 in New York, 328 in Maryland, 266 in California and hundreds more in other states.

Earlier today, 59 members of Congress wrote President Barack Obama expressing their support for the case. Rep. Cliff Stearns, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, also has called for a thorough investigation of Chinese trade practices within the solar market.

In addition, President Obama told a KGW television news reporter from Portland, Ore., last month, “We have seen a lot of questionable competitive practices coming out of China when it comes to the clean energy space, and I have been more aggressive than previous administrations in enforcing our trade laws. We have filed actions against them when we see these kinds of dumping activities, and we’re going to look very carefully at this stuff and potentially bring actions if we find that the basic rules of the road have been violated.”

The next step in the case will be a ruling by the U.S. Department of Commerce, as soon as Jan. 12, regarding preliminary remedies and “critical circumstances,” meaning importers of record could be required to deposit estimated duties on imports back to Oct. 14, 2011. The Commerce Department initiated its investigation on Nov. 9, 2011, and found that the petition is supported by the domestic industry.