Sino-U.S. photovoltaic trade "wipe * escape fire"

Business Club November 11 hearing against the US launched a "double anti-" survey, there are Chinese photovoltaic companies said "will not sit still, will adjust the strategic market deployment." IC Information On November 10, the Ministry of Commerce’s Information Office issued an announcement on the website of the Ministry of Commerce, stating that on November 8, the US Department of Commerce formally launched an anti-dumping and countervailing investigation on Chinese solar cells (boards) exported to the United States. This is the first time the US has targeted China. Clean energy products initiated a "double counter" investigation.

In the announcement titled "The Ministry of Commerce Press Spokesman Announced a U.S. Survey of China's Solar Cell (Board) Initiation of the Double Counter-Terrorism Survey," Shen Danyang, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, said: "The United States has taken the initiative in the world in the field of clean energy. It provoked trade frictions and attributed the delay in industrial development caused by its own competitiveness factors to the competition of Chinese products and proposed to adopt restrictive measures. The Chinese public and enterprises are strongly dissatisfied with this.”

"The Chinese government is seriously concerned about this case. ... China reserves the right to take corresponding measures within the framework of the WTO rules." Shen Danyang emphasized that China and the United States have mutual needs in the new energy industry. "China urges all countries in the world to cooperate more closely." Rationally handle trade frictions in the green economy."

"ITC preliminary verdict was delayed"

On November 9, US local time, the US Department of Commerce announced that the ministry is investigating complaints filed by US solar panel manufacturers against Chinese competitors. These U.S. companies submitted to the U.S. Department of Commerce in mid-October. Chinese companies dumped solar panels in the U.S. market and demanded anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panels and related products.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said that on November 8th, investigations were initiated on polysilicon solar panels, solar cells, laminates, and other products assembled from these products imported from China.

According to an internal hearing document obtained by a reporter from a Chinese photovoltaic company, the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) under the US Congress held a hearing on November 8, local time, and eight members of ITC attended the hearing. The meeting includes the committee's director of affairs, senior investigators, investigators, accountants, lawyers, industry experts, and an economist. The hearing took about 5 hours before and after the hearing, in which Chinese PV companies took about one hour of joint defense and accepted ITC's question for nearly 2 hours.

"Global Entrepreneur" quoted an expert on November 10th saying that after the hearing, ITC delayed the date of the double anti-survey investigation scheduled on November 19 until December 2.

The “caliber” that the Morning Post reporter learned from a number of Chinese PV companies on November 9 is that the United States has decided to delay the decision after 20 days.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the latest statement of the U.S. Department of Commerce is that ITC will make an initial decision on whether or not U.S. solar product manufacturers may be infringed by December 5. If ITC makes a preliminary ruling that the related products imported from China may constitute a major infringement on the domestic industry of the United States, the investigation will continue.

The US Department of Commerce stated that if the investigation continues, the ministry will strive to make a decision by the end of March next year.

Obama under pressure against the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy (CASE), a group of companies including a number of solar companies in the United States, has expressed opposition to the above trade proposal and believes that this case will 100,000 jobs in the solar industry in the United States. The alliance also includes Chinese companies Suntech, Yingli and Tianhe.

“If this case is successfully promoted, solar panels will increase prices, the demand for solar energy in the United States will decrease, and it will seriously damage the solar market in the United States.” November 8, United States local time, members of the above-mentioned coalition - MEMC solar project development department Kevin Lapidus, senior vice president for legal and government affairs, said on the conference call.

Li Junfeng, deputy director of the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, once said that if this case is filed, it will not only harm Chinese companies but also hurt US companies. The amount of raw materials and equipment imported by the Chinese PV companies from the United States exceeds 5 billion U.S. dollars and they are exported to the United States. The photovoltaic products are less than 2 billion U.S. dollars. If the interests of many photovoltaic companies listed in the United States are damaged, the interests of U.S. investors will be damaged, and U.S. power developers will also suffer losses.

Reuters said that before Kevin Lapidus said that fear of anti-dumping duties may make the project cost too high, this week China's largest solar power plant developer has shelved solar energy projects in California, New Jersey and Texas.

Not only is it expected that the US solar industry companies that import low-cost panels to increase solar power will oppose the Obama administration's attitude. Reuters said that at the moment, the Obama administration is being criticized by the Republican Party in the US Congress for its support for domestic solar energy and other renewable energy companies.

However, on the previous November 2 local time in the United States, Obama had taken a tough position: The Chinese energy company's trade behavior has "problems", and it supports the demand of the US photovoltaic company for the government to impose punitive tariffs on China's photovoltaic components.

On the 8th, US local time, the United States Steel Workers’ Union (USW), the largest workers’ organization in the United States, expressed its support for the “double counter” investigation of China’s PV. With more than 850,000 active members, USW has a pivotal role in US elections.

Suddenly "wipe * escape"

It is worth noting that from the latest progress, Chinese companies have misjudged.

According to a report issued on November 9 to the Morning Post, the domestic photovoltaic companies that the United States Department of Commerce has suspended, said that the feedback they received from the front lawyers is that the US Department of Commerce will not immediately file a case. A person in the market of photovoltaic module companies said, “The information coming from the United States early this morning (November 10, Beijing time) surprised us.”

However, the vice president of another domestic leading component company still said that he did not know that the United States has already initiated the case. He reluctantly stated, "If it is so, we can do nothing. This is the US Department of Commerce's leading investigation."

“We hope that the United States will not file a case. On November 1, we issued a statement with the China Resources Comprehensive Utilization Association’s Renewable Energy Professional Committee, the China Renewable Energy Society’s Industrial Working Committee, and the China Photovoltaic Industry Alliance’s “double reverse” issue. All of the above said.” A person in charge of the Photovoltaic Committee of the China Renewable Energy Society told the Morning Post reporter that “Not only did Chinese companies disagree, but many PV companies in the United States did not agree. However, the U.S. Department of Commerce still When the case is filed, the future results are unpredictable."

China will not "stand still"

Li Junfeng said in an interview with the Morning Post reporter that according to the historical history of Sino-US trade frictions, once the “double anti-dumping” (anti-dumping and countervailing) investigations were initiated, Chinese companies lost most of the lawsuit under the US-led case.

"This kind of investigation is only just beginning. There is still a certain amount of time. We will not sit still and we will adjust the strategic deployment of the market and increase investment in emerging markets such as India." said a head of the marketing department of photovoltaic companies, "If SolarWorld In the end, if you win, then who has a big share in the United States will be unlucky. Fortunately, we have less than 10% last year and the impact is not too great."

Another person in charge of photovoltaic module companies from Nanjing said that they are optimistic about the markets in Japan and countries such as Asia, Africa and Latin America.

However, the fact is that the influence of the U.S. action will not stop at the North American market. "If the United States levies punitive tariffs on Chinese products, the EU will usually follow suit," Li Junfeng said in an interview with the Morning Post reporter.

“The European PV market directly benefits from the declining selling prices of PV modules in China, and it is not known whether Europe will follow suit.” said a person in charge of a domestic component company. “This is true, then the prospects of domestic PV companies are quite pessimistic. This can be It can be adjusted not by adjusting the market strategy."

According to available data, more than 90% of China's PV module companies' shipments in 2010 were sold to overseas markets. Among them, Europe has a share of about 70%.

According to the US Department of Commerce, solar panel imports from China in 2010 increased from US$640 million in 2009 to US$1.5 billion.