Sat, Sep 11, 2010 page11

• Beijing violating rules on clean energy: union

  GREEN WITH ENVY US lawmakers said China’s ‘unfair trade practices’ were making it harder to achieve energy independence and create millions of new ‘green’ jobs

  • AP, WASHINGTON
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  A major US union is asking the administration of US President Barack Obama to crack down on various Chinese trade practices that it says are robbing US workers of jobs in the burgeoning field of clean energy, such as solar and wind power.

  The United Steelworkers union on Thursday filed a 5,800-page petition with the administration contending that China’s central and provincial governments are giving Chinese companies unfair advantages over US firms through the use of government subsidies that are prohibited under global trade rules.

  Under US law, the administration will have 45 days to decide whether to accept the petition and launch an investigation that could lead to cases being filed against China before the Geneva-based WTO.

  The deadline for the administration to decide the case will occur just a little over a week before this year’s November congressional elections, a fact union officials hope will put pressure on the administration to rule in its favor.

  “We believe it is well beyond time that people started standing up to China’s illegal practices and started standing up for American workers,” Steelworkers president Leo Gerard said during a conference call.

  “Green jobs are key to our future. Right now, China is taking every possible step, many of them illegal under international trade laws, to ensure that it will control that sector,” Gerard said.

  In its petition, the Steelworkers contended that the subsidies the Chinese government provides to Chinese manufacturers of wind turbines, solar panels and other clean energy equipment violated WTO rules.

  The union asked the administration to begin formal talks with China. If those talks fail to convince Beijing to drop the contested government support, the union said the administration should file cases against China before the WTO.

  The Steelworkers’ petition on clean energy comes at a time when the two countries are already fighting on a number of other trade fronts, from Chinese tires to imported steel products.

  The administration is also applying pressure to get Beijing to allow its currency to rise in value against the US dollar as a way to reduce a yawning trade deficit, the largest with any country.

  Nefeterius McPherson, a spokeswoman for US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, said the administration would review the Steelworkers’ petition and make a decision on whether to begin an investigation within the 45 days provided by US trade law.

  Various lawmakers issued statements supporting the Steelworkers and urging the administration to launch investigations.

  “There is no question that China is ignoring trade rules so that it can cheat its way to first place in the clean-energy manufacturing race,” Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a statement.

  Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said that a report prepared by his office showed that China’s exports of green energy products had surged to US$27 billion in 2008, an increase of more than 500 percent since 2004.

  “The adoption of clean energy technology provides the opportunity for the United States to be energy independent and support millions of new jobs, but this can only happen if the Obama administration effectively combats China’s unfair trade practices,” Wyden said in a statement.
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