No bright side to trade investigation into solar panel exports from China

The anti-dumping investigation conducted by the United States International Trade Commission against Chinese solar-energy products is hindering the process of solving the trade dispute, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Monday.

"The US International Trade Commission has not realized that the two countries' solar industries are tightly linked. US solar imports from China have created great commercial benefits and job opportunities for the US," said an official from the Bureau of Fair Trade for Imports and Exports at the Ministry of Commerce.

The investigation is regarded as a further move in imposing restrictions on China's exports of solar products into the US after the US Commerce Department imposed tariffs of 29.18 percent to 254.66 percent on Chinese solar panels in December 2012.

"Since May 2013, China and the US have held several rounds of negotiations to resolve the solar dispute. The path has been tough. Right now, we hope the US will undertake the investigation fairly and objectively and also avoid trade protection," said the official.

Meanwhile, the official said that the ministry will organize related solar companies to prepare for a legal defense in terms of potential industrial injury in the face of allegations of dumping and subsidies.

"The drive behind the US anti-dumping investigation is a kind of trade protectionism against a background of fierce competition in the new energy industry between the two countries," said Wang Li, an analyst at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a government think tank.

Because the scope of the investigation includes crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules, laminates and/or panels consisting of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, almost spreading to all categories of crystalline silicon photovoltaic products, the trade dispute between the two countries will extend across more cases, involve more money and occur more frequently, according to Wang.