Low-cost solar panels imported from China and other countries to the US have caused serious injury to local manufacturers, a US trade commission ruled on Friday, raising the possibility of US President Donald Trump’s administration imposing tariffs that could double the price of solar panels from abroad.
The 4-0 vote by the US International Trade Commission sets up a two-month review period in which the panel must recommend a remedy to Trump, with a final decision on tariffs expected in January next year.
White House spokeswoman Natalie Strom said that Trump “will examine the facts and make a determination that reflects the best interests of the United States. The US solar manufacturing sector contributes to our energy security and economic prosperity.”
Georgia-based Suniva Inc and Oregon-based SolarWorld Americas brought the case, saying that a flood of imports have pushed them to the brink of extinction. Suniva declared bankruptcy, while SolarWorld had to lay off three-quarters of its workforce.
Cheap imports have led to a boom in the US solar industry, where rooftop and other installations have surged tenfold since 2011.
The main trade group for the solar industry and many governors oppose tariffs, saying they could cause a sharp price hike that would lead to a drop in solar installations by more than 50 percent in two years.
A group of former US military officials also urged the administration to reject solar tariffs, adding that the US Department of Defense is the nation’s largest energy consumer and follows a federal law calling for the Pentagon to procure 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2025.
Solar Energy Industries Association president and chief executive Abigail Ross Hopper called the trade commission’s vote disappointing for nearly 9,000 US solar companies and the 260,000 Americans they employ.
“Foreign-owned companies that brought business failures on themselves are attempting to exploit American trade laws to gain a bailout for their bad investments,” Hopper said, adding that potential tariffs could double the price of solar installations, lowering US demand and risking billions of US dollars in investment.
While the US solar industry employs about 260,000 people, fewer than 2,000 are involved in making solar panels like those made by Suniva and SolarWorld. More than half of solar jobs are in installation, with another 66,000 in sales, distribution and development.
About 38,000 jobs involve manufacture of inverters, racks and other products related to solar panels.
Hopper told reporters she was optimistic that Trump would not impose tariffs on solar imports.
“The president wants to create jobs and increase energy security and economic prosperity, and that is the story of the solar industry,” Hopper said. “I think that is entirely resonant with his rhetoric and his concern.”
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day