Leaders of companies with a stakein the US market for solar photovoltaic (PV) energy earlier this week testifiedbefore the US International Trade Commission (ITC) panel investigating whetheror not China’s crystalline silicon PV exports to the US violate WTO rules oninternational trade by materially harming US manufacturers.

The Oct. 3 ITC hearing was thelast in one of the largest anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases ever broughtagainst China, and there have been many. US solar manufacturers, led bySolarWorld USA CEO Gordon Brinser, testified that “Chinese imports haveaccelerated losses of high-paying jobs and plant closures at a time when theUnited States is struggling to jump-start a struggling economy,” according to aCoalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM) press release.

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During the hearing, the ITC panelheard testimony from US solar PV manufacturers, distributors, and installers.Other witnesses included Brigadier Gen. Michael Caldwell, Oregon MilitaryDepartment; Joe Morinville, president of Pittsburgh-based installation firmEnergy Independent Solutions; Mike McKechnie, president of installation firmMountain View Solar in Berkeley Springs, WV.; and Mark Ferda, renewable energymanager for electrical-supply company McNaughton-McKay Electric Co. in MadisonHeights, MI.

SolarWorld, the 225 CASM members,and its supporters assert that China’s predatory, state-subsidized exports tothe US has caused at least 14 U.S. manufacturers to close or downsizeoperations. “That’s resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs in Arizona,California, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania andTennessee. The most recent shutdowns, they said, include Schott’s plant in NewMexico and Sharp’s plant in Tennessee.”

It’s unlikely that the US solarmanufacturing industry can survive the massive surge of crystalline silicon PVproducts into the US that followed CASM’s two unfair-trade petition filingswith US WTO authorities without relief, including levying of duties, CASMmembers and supporters testified.

Countering CASM and supporters’claims, the Coalition for Affordable Soalr Energy (CASE) attributed decliningsolar PV cell and module costs to declining US government incentives, andcompetition with natural gas to the problems in US solar manufacturing. Thetrade group laid the blame for bankruptcies and downsizing at the doorstep ofUS manufacturers themselves.

“Module costs were driven down inparallel with declining incentives for solar energy which has resulted inmaking solar energy affordable in the US,” CASE stated in a press release. “Tothe extent that companies such as SolarWorld are not doing well, this reflectstheir own failures, including being late-comers to the utility segment and tomodule innovation. In this environment, only those solar module manufacturersthat have invested, innovated, and cut costs are equipped to survive.”

“Germany’s SolarWorld, in anattempt to obtain government intervention to raise the price of solar energy,is willing to threaten the future growth of America’s solar industry to achieveits own goals,” CASE continued. “SolarWorld opponents countered SolarWorld’sclaims by demonstrating that the structure of US solar programs and competitionwith natural gas have been the forces behind driving down the price of solarcells, not imports from China.”

SolarWorld USA filed petitions onbehalf of CASM with the ITC and Commerce Department on Oct. 19, 2011. Based onresults of their investigations, Commerce in March announced preliminaryanti-subsidy duties of up to 4.73 percent on Chinese cells and panels, and inMay announced preliminary anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar cell and panelimports ranging from 31 percent to 249.96 percent.

“Five years ago, we saw theindustry really taking off in the United States, and we carefully planned howwe would be a responsible leader in this growing market,” Brinser testified.“We made enormous investments in our facilities and devoted substantialresources to technological development. However, far from benefitting from thegrowth in U.S. demand, SolarWorld has been severely harmed by unfairly tradedChinese imports.”

The ITC panel in December 2011determined “that there is a reasonable indication that an industry in theUnited States is materially injured by reason of imports from China ofcrystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules… that are alleged to be soldin the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) and subsidized by theGovernment of China.” The ITC’s final determination is expected on Nov. 7. Anaffirmative vote would validate the final import duties that Commerce isexpected to announce on Oct. 10.

Solar PV manufacturers and otherindustry participants in the European Union and India have more recently filedcomplaints alleging China’s government and silicon PV manufacturers areviolating WTO international trade regulations.

October 5, 2012

By Andrew

Source: Clean Technica