Chinese solar companies on Thursday called for free trade and open competition in the global solar energy sector, saying U.S. antidumping tariffs would harm the sector's development and risked sparking a wider trade war in the sector.
Chinese solar companies on Thursday called for free trade and open
competition in the global solar energy sector, saying
U.S.
antidumping tariffs would harm the sector's development and risked sparking a
wider trade war in the sector.
"If the European Union and
India
were
to follow suit, then we'd probably see a 'world war' over solar energy,"
said Dr. Shawn Qu, CEO of Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ), which has a strong
manufacturing presence in
China
.
Qu joined a number of chief executives from Chinese solar companies speaking at
a press briefing one week after the U.S. Commerce Department announced a
preliminary decision to impose 31% antidumping duties on Chinese-made solar
equipment.
China
responded at the time by saying the decision was "protectionist" and
"unreasonable."
Earlier Thursday,
China
's
Ministry of Commerce signaled that it may retaliate against the
U.S.
tariffs. It said a Chinese investigation into
U.S.
government backing for six clean energy projects in that country had violated
World Trade Organization rules and acted as barriers to trade.
The executives Thursday also expressed hope that the Chinese government would
do more to promote the development and use of solar energy in
China
.
Among the companies represented at the news conference was Suntech Power
Holdings Co. (STP), whose chief executive, Shi Zhenrong, said he expects
China
to
become the world's largest solar energy market in the coming years, but that
Beijing
should do more to make it happen.
The
U.S.
tariffs and Chinese accusations come at a difficult time for the solar
industry. A glut of manufacturing capacity, primarily in
China
, has
driven prices, profits and share prices sharply lower. Several solar-panel
makers have been forced to close, including
U.S.
company Solyndra LLC, which had received more than $500 million in
U.S.
government assistance.
At the same time, demand in the E.U., which in 2011 was the world's top market
for solar equipment, has slumped due to the debt crisis, economic slowdown and
reduced government spending.
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