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  • Essay / To protect us in solar power manufacturing, trade body recommends limits on imports

    Trade officials recommended Tuesday that the United States place restrictions on solar power equipment purchased from the foreign trade, including tariffs of up to 35%, paving the way for one of President Trump's first major trade decisions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essay The trade case has been championed by U.S. solar producers, but opposed by big buyers of solar panels, like solar panel companies. utilities and home installers, who could be buffeted by higher prices if tariffs are imposed. Four officials from the U.S. International Trade Commission, an independent federal agency that governs trade, announced a series of recommendations Tuesday aimed at protecting domestic solar equipment manufacturers from unfairly priced imports, including from from China. These included limiting imports of certain solar components and imposing tariffs of 10 to 35 percent on certain products. These recommendations will be sent to the president by November 13; it will have 60 days to accept or reject these ideas to determine the final course of action. The move comes as Mr. Trump prepares to travel to China next week to meet with Chinese officials on a range of security and trade issues. Solar energy may be just one of many industries being discussed, including oil and gas, automotive and finance. Two companies, Suniva and SolarWorld, brought a solar case to the trade commission earlier this year, claiming they were forced into bankruptcy following an influx of subsidized imports from China. The companies said imports of photovoltaic cells and modules that are ultimately made into solar panels have pushed them and other U.S. companies out of business. Suniva called the International Trade Commission's recommendations "disappointing" in a statement, saying they were not strong enough. He called on Mr Trump to implement tougher restrictions “necessary to save America’s manufacturing industry”. approach and recommended “nothing close to what the petitioners requested.” But he stressed that the proposed tariffs would be extremely damaging to the industry. This case is unique because it relies on a rarely used section of federal trade law, known as Section 201 or the "global safeguard inquiry," which gives the president broad authority to impose tariffs or other restrictions to help protect a domestic industry. The prospect of such restrictions has sparked a backlash from industries and solar users, who argue that such measures would raise prices throughout the supply chain and ultimately cost more American jobs that they would save. They argue that cheaper solar products from China have actually been a boon to their companies and accelerated the adoption of solar energy in the United States, where it now powers millions of American homes and businesses . Workers who install solar energy projects, utilities who purchase solar energy, and major commercial users of solar energy, such as retailers, could all be harmed by.