By Lucy Hornby
BEIJING, Nov 10 (Reuters) – The U.S. decision to approve
steep duties on Chinese-made solar panels could cost American
exporters a growing market, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen
Deming said on Saturday, adding that he didn’t want to see a
trade war.
The U.S. International Trade Commission voted last week in
favour of duties ranging from 23.75 percent to about 250
percent, ruling that a flood of cheap solar panels from China
had hurt U.S.-based manufacturers. Similar cases are under way
in Germany.
China has already struck back by launching an investigation
into imports of solar-grade polysilicon from both the United
States and South Korea, and warned of action against European
polysilicon.
“If you say I bought your equipment and raw materials but
now that I am shipping my products you want to pop on a 249
percent tariff, fine then, buy why should I buy any more of your
raw materials or equipment?” Chen told reporters on the
sidelines of the 18th Communist Party Congress that will anoint
the next generation of Chinese leaders.
“That’s why I say any unilateral trade action will also
impact the instigator. China is developing, urbanizing, China
has a lot of construction under way and will need solar
products, so the U.S. is losing out on a big market in the
future.”
The United States imported about $3.1 billion worth of solar
cells and panels from China in 2011, up from $640 million two
years earlier, although both figures contain some products not
covered by the ITC investigation.
SolarWorld, the largest U.S. solar-panel manufacturer,
accused Chinese competitors such as Suntech Power Holdings
and Trina Solar of selling solar cells and
panels in the United States at unfairly low prices and receiving
government subsidies.
SolarWorld’s German parent, SolarWorld AG, is pressing the
European Union for similar curbs on Chinese solar products.
Chen valued the solar panel manufacturing equipment bought
from the United States at over 40 billion yuan ($6.41 billion),
and from Germany at “billions of yuan”.
Chinese firms poured into manufacturing solar panels, lured
by domestic subsidies meant to encourage high-tech industry and
by European and American subsidies for solar energy
installation.
Profits have plummeted due to cut-throat competition among
over 100 Chinese manufacturers and the drying up of overseas
purchasing incentives.
Chinese households often use solar panels in rooftop water
heaters but the country has yet to implement any policy to
encourage domestic solar energy generation.
