trade war

REC Silicon ASA has announced that it will today lay off around 100 employees from its workforce based in Washington, the U.S., and reduce production, as a “direct result” of the trade dispute between the U.S. and China.

In the face of actual and threatened tariffs in the US and India, the world’s biggest solar manufacturers may have to set up shop in the protectionist nations in question ahead of a predicted cooling in their home market.

In this exclusive interview with pv magazine, SolarWorld Americas CEO Jürgen Stein gives his perspective on the Section 201 trade case, including responding to criticism of potential effects on the U.S. solar market.

The European Commission aims to introduce a new procedure for determining the minimum import price for Chinese PV panels, after member states have discussed the proposal. It still remains unclear if the minimum import price for solar modules was lowered at the beginning of September or it will be reduced by two cents per watt in October.

A bipartisan group of congressmen cite the possibility of devastating job losses as a reason to reject the Suniva/SolarWorld Section 201 trade case, one day before the commission hears testimony.

A pair of court rulings has shot down challenges by a range of solar manufacturers related to the details of 2014 import duties on solar products from China and Taiwan.

Today, SolarWorld AG filed for insolvency in Germany, and it is unclear whether or not its U.S. subsidiary will also file. In the following interview, Mercom Capital CEO Raj Prabhu talks about what this means for the U.S. solar industry.