Importing Chinese products, US lawmakers are at war with the government

Importing Chinese products, US lawmakers are at war with the government, Washington? Several U.S. congressmen on Wednesday (September 26) urged the U.S. government to increase taxes on China...

*Congressmen said free trade is not disorderly trading*

By Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Senator Jeff Merkley Merkley, an eight-member group of U.S. lawmakers criticized U.S. government agencies for decisions that favor Chinese products.

The U.S. Department of Commerce previously announced that it would withdraw the 30% preliminary anti-dumping and countervailing duties imposed on Chinese solar panels worth billions of dollars. The Ministry of Commerce will announce its decision on October 10.

U.S. lawmakers said that these solar products include batteries produced in other countries, with raw materials sourced from China, and finished solar panels also assembled in China, triggering accusations that China uses outsourcing to evade U.S. tariffs. The congressman also said that the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision “will allow (Chinese manufacturers) to evade anti-dumping and counter-tariffs.”

Senator Wyden said in a statement: "Free trade does not mean disorderly trading." The U.S. Department of Commerce said in an investigation report earlier this year that Chinese solar panel manufacturers and exporters dumped products into the U.S. market at prices ranging from 31.14% to 249.96% below the market.

Three solar product companies, including California-based Solyndra, New York-based SpectraWatt and Massachusetts-based Evergreen, filed for bankruptcy protection in August and September last year.

The U.S. International Commission will ultimately decide whether to impose such tariffs.

*Chinese companies’ costs are increasing*

Zhong Dajun, director of China’s Beijing Dajun Think Tank Economic Consulting Co., Ltd., told VOA that from the Chinese side, Chinese companies have continued to spend money to respond to international anti-dumping accusations in recent years, which has increased corporate costs; the solar industry, in particular, is facing huge challenges from increasingly fierce competition, rising costs and declining exports.

Zhong Dajun said: "Chinese companies spend money to respond to lawsuits, which invisibly consumes a lot of operating costs, and trade frictions bring great losses to companies. Many in the solar panel industry are private companies, and this industry is not high-tech and has no monopoly. Private companies often see advantages. Ketu immediately launched, almost all operating on slim profits. "

The U.S. International Trade Commission will hold a hearing on solar energy imports on October 3 to determine whether U.S. manufacturers have been severely hit or threatened by the influx of cheap Chinese products. If the conclusion is drawn in favor of China, the United States will refund the deposit or deposit previously paid by Chinese manufacturers to the United States in accordance with the preliminary tariff regulations.

In the United States, imports of solar products from China have increased dramatically in recent years, with imports rising from more than $510 million in 2008 to $3.1 billion in 2011. Europe is the largest user of solar panels, importing five times as many panels from China as the United States.