U.S. may put emergency tariffs on solar imports
Mon May 29, 2017 | 1:19pm EDT
By Tom Miles | GENEVA
The United States has notified the other 163 members of the World Trade Organization that it is considering putting emergency "safeguard" tariffs on imported solar cells, according to a WTO filing published on Monday.
The move raises the stakes in a global battle to dominate the solar power industry, which has grown explosively in the past five years. As production has increased, prices have tumbled, favoring producers who can take advantage of economies of scale.
The United States, China and India are vying to be the market leader, and are looking out for any perceived breach of the international trade rules by their rivals.
Last September, the WTO ruled that India was illegally discriminating against U.S. solar exports, while India launched its own WTO complaint about solar subsidies in eight U.S. states.
The United States' ability to attract renewable energy investment has been tarnished by the shift in energy policy under U.S. President Donald Trump, putting China and India on top, a report by British accountancy firm Ernst & Young said earlier this month.
The U.S. decision to consider safeguard tariffs follows a petition to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) by Suniva, Inc, the filing said.
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