trade dispute

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has sent a plea to president Trump asking him to preserve tens of thousands of US solar jobs by not imposing high tariffs on imported solar panels, while Trump himself has indicated that he will make a decision on the Section 201 Case soon.

A preliminary recommendation from India’s Directorate General of Safeguards Customs and Central Excise to impose a provisional 70% safeguard duty on solar cells imported from China and Malaysia has been branded as “ridiculous” and potentially catastrophic, by PV industry members involved in finance, project development and analysis.

The US could bring back its World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute with India, after reports suggested the US believes the South Asian country has failed to comply with a 2016 ruling on its solar policies.

An oral hearing for India’s anti-dumping investigation was held on Tuesday, giving a chance for domestic and foreign manufacturers as well as module importers to air their cases.

US utility firm NextEra Energy has questioned the motives of the two Section 201 petitioners, Suniva and SolarWorld, and warned the foreign-owned US-based manufacturers could not hope to meet domestic demand.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has revealed a plan which includes six recommendations for Donald Trump to elevate the growth of the solar industry.

South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has said it would consider filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) if the US brings in solar import restrictions, according to Reuters.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has recommended duties and quotas in the section 201 case falling some way short of those requested by the petitioners.

Remedies that drive up the cost of deploying solar power in the US would jeopardise the ability of Puerto Rico to rebuild its power infrastructure, Senator-at-large Eduardo Bhatia has warned.

A US$0.40/W tariff would halve utility-scale deployment in the US between 2018-2022, according to GTM Research.