WTO ruling paves way for Chinese retaliation to US over solar duties

July 17, 2019
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The appellate ruling marks the latest twist of a trade spat on countervaling duties brought by China in 2012 (Credit: The White House)

The solar industry has been dragged anew into the ongoing US-China trade tussle, with Washington DC asked again by a global ruling to revise tariffs on Chinese PV imports.

A new decision by the appellate body of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) frees Beijing to seek retaliation against the so-called countervailing duties, applied by the US on Chinese PV panels and over 10 other products.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The decision – the latest twist of a spat going back seven years – upholds earlier WTO findings that the US failed to provide evidence that China was subsidising specific manufacturers before tariffs were slapped on imports from the Asian state.

The dispute was initially brought by China in 2012. That very same year, the US had rolled out module and cell duties in the 24-250% region, to counter what former SolarWorld Americas described as China’s “state-sponsored export campaign”.

The ensuing WTO case swung in China’s favour, with the US agreeing in 2016 – after an unfavourable ruling – to bring its tariff measures into conformity with WTO rules. Alleging the US had not acted on its promise, China later requested a compliance probe, culminating in this week’s decision.

Sources close to the WTO confirmed this week that the US continues to apply duties on PV imports. The country’s latest WTO submissions, dated on 31 December 2018, show certain Chinese crystalline silicon PV cells face tariffs of 9.12-11.59%, down from the 11.39-14.34% bracket that applied until last October.

US fights back with ‘concerns’ on appellate body

Whether Washington DC will review at all its countervailing duty schemes in the light of the ruling remains uncertain. Shortly after the WTO’s announcement, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said it had “concerns” about the appellate body’s functioning.

The ruling, USTR argued, undermines the WTO’s own rules, allowing Chinese subsidies to “harm” US jobs and “distort” global markets. The US wants to ensure a “level playing field” so that Beijing’s policies “stop injuring” US workers and businesses, the USTR added.

For its part, China’s Commerce Ministry was quoted by news agency Xinhua as hailing the ruling as “proof” of the US’ “repeated abuse” of trade remedy measures. China, the Ministry added, brought the case to preserve the “authority of the multilateral trade system and seriousness of rules”.

The dispute marks the second WTO defeat for solar policies in the US in the space of a few weeks. In late June, a separate process saw the country ordered to revise state-level solar panel incentive schemes, which India claims have resulted in unfavourable treatment for its own products.

Beijing – currently eyeing a transition to subsidy-free solar even as it approves nearly 23GW of feed-in-tariff support – intervened in the India-US dispute to take Delhi’s side. US incentives, Beijing said in WTO filings, had brought the country “unfair advantages” and seriously distorted the global market.

See here for the full background on the China-US dispute on countervailing measures

10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

October 28, 2025
Chinese solar inverter producer GoodWe has launched a new “low noise, low weight” string inverter for the European corporate & industrial solar market.
October 27, 2025
Engie has signed additional PPAs with Meta, expanding their partnership to more than 1.3GW across four solar projects in Texas.
October 27, 2025
Waaree Energies has secured four solar module supply contracts totalling 692MW – three for projects in India and one in the US through its subsidiary.
October 27, 2025
Chinese polysilicon producer Daqo New Energy saw an increase in sales and profits in Q3 2025, as the sector looks to address ongoing oversupply and financial losses.
October 27, 2025
US solar technology company Swift Solar has deployed perovskite solar technology as part of a Department of Defence cyber warfare exercise in the state of Virginia.
October 23, 2025
US solar manufacturer T1 Energy sold approximately 725MW of solar modules in Q3 2025, as it continues to expand US manufacturing capabilities.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
November 12, 2025
10am PST / 1pm EST
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 10, 2026
Frankfurt, Germany