Solar News!!!# Stock
r*m
1 楼
U.S. to Place Tariffs on Solar Panels From China
The Commerce Department has decided to impose tariffs on solar panels
imported from China after concluding that the Chinese government provided
illegal export subsidies to manufacturers there.
Green
The tariffs were smaller than many industry executives had expected — 2
.9 to 4.73 percent — which could blunt their effect on sales. But the
decision was nonetheless likely to be seen as a milestone because of its
implications for international trade, renewable energy and American
manufacturing.
With China and trade policy both critical issues in presidential campaign
politics, the imposition of tariffs by the Obama administration seems
certain to be used by the president’s backers as evidence that he is
getting tough with Beijing, while opponents might see an opportunity to
criticize it as meddlesome industrial policy. But the decision was actually
made by civil servants in a quasi-judicial process that is designed to be
insulated from political pressures.
The Commerce Department sent notification of the decision on Tuesday to a
coalition of seven solar panel manufacturers that had sought the tariffs,
according to SolarWorld, the company that led the coalition. The department,
which planned to publicly announce the decision later in the day, declined
to comment before then.
Whatever the political spin proponents or critics might want to put on it,
there is no question that solar panels from China now dominate the American
market, with a market share of about 50 percent; panel makers based in the
United States represent 29 percent of the market. American imports of
Chinese solar panels have soared from $21.3 million in 2005 to $1.15 billion
in 2010 and $2.65 billion last year.
While American manufacturers oppose the imports, users of solar energy have
benefited from low-cost solar panels from China. Globally, the Chinese
panels have driven down the cost of solar energy by two-thirds in the last
four years, narrowing but not eliminating the wide price gap that used to
separate solar power from electricity generated by burning fossil fuels.
Plunging prices and widespread government subsidies for buyers of solar
panels have produced a global boom in solar energy. But that boom has held
few benefits for the American industry: the plunging prices led to the
bankruptcy of three American solar panel manufacturers last August.
One of the failures was Solyndra, which cost the federal government roughly
$500 million in loan guarantees. Solyndra’s collapse has been the subject
of a continuing investigation by Congressional Republicans, who contend that
the Obama administration should not have lent so much money for an
unproved clean energy program.
The Commerce Department has decided to impose tariffs on solar panels
imported from China after concluding that the Chinese government provided
illegal export subsidies to manufacturers there.
Green
The tariffs were smaller than many industry executives had expected — 2
.9 to 4.73 percent — which could blunt their effect on sales. But the
decision was nonetheless likely to be seen as a milestone because of its
implications for international trade, renewable energy and American
manufacturing.
With China and trade policy both critical issues in presidential campaign
politics, the imposition of tariffs by the Obama administration seems
certain to be used by the president’s backers as evidence that he is
getting tough with Beijing, while opponents might see an opportunity to
criticize it as meddlesome industrial policy. But the decision was actually
made by civil servants in a quasi-judicial process that is designed to be
insulated from political pressures.
The Commerce Department sent notification of the decision on Tuesday to a
coalition of seven solar panel manufacturers that had sought the tariffs,
according to SolarWorld, the company that led the coalition. The department,
which planned to publicly announce the decision later in the day, declined
to comment before then.
Whatever the political spin proponents or critics might want to put on it,
there is no question that solar panels from China now dominate the American
market, with a market share of about 50 percent; panel makers based in the
United States represent 29 percent of the market. American imports of
Chinese solar panels have soared from $21.3 million in 2005 to $1.15 billion
in 2010 and $2.65 billion last year.
While American manufacturers oppose the imports, users of solar energy have
benefited from low-cost solar panels from China. Globally, the Chinese
panels have driven down the cost of solar energy by two-thirds in the last
four years, narrowing but not eliminating the wide price gap that used to
separate solar power from electricity generated by burning fossil fuels.
Plunging prices and widespread government subsidies for buyers of solar
panels have produced a global boom in solar energy. But that boom has held
few benefits for the American industry: the plunging prices led to the
bankruptcy of three American solar panel manufacturers last August.
One of the failures was Solyndra, which cost the federal government roughly
$500 million in loan guarantees. Solyndra’s collapse has been the subject
of a continuing investigation by Congressional Republicans, who contend that
the Obama administration should not have lent so much money for an
unproved clean energy program.
