Trade war: Chinese solar exporters to rebut U.S. tariffs

Chinese solar panel makers are forging alliances to rebut the newly imposed punitive tariffs on exports to the United States, as the Commerce Department set a new rate of over 30% on May 17.

"We held an emergency meeting in the morning of May 18 after hearing the news, and we are now contacting and mobilizing Chinese companies to rebut the tariffs," said Gao Hongling, Deputy Secretary General of the China Photovoltaic Industry Alliance. "We remain optimistic because we successfully brought down the rate to 2.9%-4.73% as the US Commerce Department set the tariffs on our solar cells in March."

"Chinese companies should get together and make good use of the next few months to be prepared for the rebuttal," said Zhang Jianping from the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. "We need to prove to the US government that we don't export cut-price solar products either by government subsidy or dumping. The companies should join forces through industry alliances and committees."

Chinese solar penal prices rose over 70% between 2008 to 2010; it is not fair to impose anti-dumping tariffs on these products, according to He Weiwen, Office Director of the China International Trade Study Center.

"The tariffs could backfire on the US economy too," said He. "Many Chinese solar makers import raw materials and equipment from the US; the tariffs could bring down production and employment within the U.S."

Last year, China imported 64,613.86 tons of Polysilicon, 17,476.32 tons of which came from the US, Chinese Custom statistics shows.