Full Title: Suniva’s Solar Trade Case, The U.S. International Trade Commission, and the Solar Industry’s View
Author(s):
Publisher(s): Solar Energy Industries Association
Publication Date: June 1, 2017
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Description (excerpt):
After declaring bankruptcy, Suniva, Inc. on April 26, 2017 filed a petition with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) asking the government to put its thumb on the scale of the U.S. solar market. On May 25, SolarWorld Americas announced it had joined as co-petitioner. This case poses a major threat to the U.S. solar industry and its 260,000 workers.
If the remedies sought by the petitioners are put into effect, the U.S. solar industry would lose 88,000 jobs next year. It risks billions of dollars in private-sector investment. SEIA is going to fight this petition every step of the way and ask the government not to endanger a thriving American industry.
Suniva is more than $100 million in debt and wants a tariff on imported solar cells and a floor price for solar panels made with foreign cells. The company is majority-owned by a Chinese concern, which does not support Suniva’s request for tariff support. The ITC is an independent, quasi-judicial federal agency that investigates and makes recommendations to the administration on trade matters. On May 23, 2017, the ITC initiated review of this “extraordinarily complicated” case.