US blocks China's PV product exports via Taiwan

28/12/2014 12:00 - 500 Views

In 2011, the United States conducted anti-dumping and anti-subsidy sanctions against imports of silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) products from China, so that Chinese PV producers had to export their products to the US through Taiwan, but now that the US has strengthened its blocking measures it is impossible to continue in such a manner, our sister paper Want Daily reports.

Unless Chinese PV enterprises can directly set up factories overseas it will be nearly impossible to sell their products to the US market, according to unnamed industry insiders.

Some Taiwanese businesses are seeking cooperation with Nanjing-based CSUN as the latter has overseas experience, said one unnamed insider at CSUN.

Chinese PV producers in recent years have tried to avoid the US anti-dumping and anti-subsidy sanctions by exporting their products via Taiwan, according to a recent report by OFweek. But the US Department of Commerce has recently completed investigations and decided to initiate a second round of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy sanctions on imports of solar products from China and Taiwan, making it impossible to continue doing do.

After the first US sanctions in November 2011, Chinese PV companies procured Taiwan-made solar cells and processed them into components for export to the US to avoid tariffs.

In January 2014, the DOC initiated anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations on imports of PV panels from China and Taiwan, and it has recently reached a final ruling in favor of sanctions, according to Nanjing's commerce bureau.

In the latest investigation the scope expanded to solar modules, laminates, and panels, among others. They also looked into Taiwan as well as just China this time. The US has since levied an anti-dumping tax of 165.04% and an anti-subsidy tax of 38.72% on PV products imported from China.

In November 2011, the US levied an anti-dumping tax of between 18.32% and 249.96% on PV products imported from China, and an anti-subsidy tax of between 14.78% and 15.97%.

The US sanctions aim to restrict on the mainland's exports of PV products to the US, a move that will hurt Jiangsu's PV producers in the first half of this year. Jiangsu's PV product exports accounted for about half of the Chinas's total in such exports. Jiangsu's PC producers include Trina Solar, Canadian Solar and Suntech Power.

CSUN got a 52.13% anti-dumping tax and a 38.72% anti-subsidy tax, making products it previously sold for US$1, now US$1.9. This severely reduces the ability for Chinese companies to compete in the US. Its only way out is to set up overseas factories. CSUN has set up a factory in Turkey,and from now on it will export products to the US and Europe from there.

Source: Want China Times