US trade panel finds harm from China solar panels
Source: AP-Excite
By JOSH LEDERMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal trade panel found China responsible Wednesday for harming the U.S. solar panel industry, clearing the final hurdle for U.S. attempts to impose steep tariffs on Chinese solar companies.
The U.S. International Trade Commission voted unanimously that Chinese companies have materially injured U.S. manufacturers, affirming its 2011 vote that launched a yearlong inquiry into low-cost Chinese products that U.S manufacturers blame for putting them on the brink of collapse.
Chinese companies that export billions of dollars of solar products to the U.S. each year will face tariffs of up to nearly 250 percent. The Obama administration imposed those tariffs in October after finding that China's government is subsidizing companies that are flooding the U.S. market with low-cost products - a tactic known as "dumping." Wednesday's vote means that those tariffs, along with anti-subsidy fees of up to 16 percent, will stand.
The stiff penalties affirmed Wednesday will be good for five years. The U.S. government will then re-evaluate whether the tariffs are still necessary and at what levels.
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In this Nov. 10, 2011 file photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a worker fixes a solar panel at a factory in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. A federal trade panel found China responsible Wednesday for harming the U.S. solar panel industry, clearing the final hurdle for U.S. attempts to impose steep tariffs on Chinese solar companies. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Liang Xiaopeng, File) NO SALES
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