Wrapup 1: Trump signs solar panel tariff, angering U.S. installers

Solarworld AG

23/01/2018 20:33

By Ayesha Rascoe and Nichola Groom 
    WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES Jan 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President 
Donald Trump signed into law a steep tariff on imported solar 
panels on Tuesday, a move billed as a way to protect American 
jobs but which the solar industry said would lead to thousands 
of layoffs and raise consumer prices. 
    China, the world's biggest solar panel producer, complained 
the decision would undermine global trade. 
    The 30 percent tariff on solar panels is among the first 
unilateral trade restrictions imposed by the administration as 
part of a broader protectionist agenda intended to help U.S. 
businesses struggling to compete with companies producing 
lower-priced goods overseas. The administration also introduced 
a tariff on imported washing machines.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1PH1WV 
    "You're going to have people getting jobs again and we're 
going to make our own product again. It's been a long time," 
Trump said as he signed the order. 
    But the solar industry countered that the move will raise 
the cost of installing panels, quash billions of dollars of 
investment, and kill tens of thousands of jobs, raising 
questions about whether Trump's move will backfire by triggering 
mass layoffs.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1PI1BQ 
    "We are not happy with this decision," said Abigail Ross 
Hopper, president of the U.S. Solar Energy Industries 
Association, on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. 
"It's just basic economics - if you raise the price of a product 
it's going to decrease demand for that product." 
    SEIA predicted that the tariffs could decrease the projected 
11 gigawatt of solar forecasted to be installed in the United 
States this year by 2 GW and lead to the loss of 23,000 jobs 
this year. 
    The U.S. solar industry employs more than 260,000 workers - 
about five times more than the coal industry. About 14 percent 
of those 260,000 jobs are in manufacturing, with installers 
making up most of the rest of the industry. 
    Over the next five years, the tariffs are projected to 
reduce U.S. solar installation growth by 10 to 15 percent, 
research firm Wood Mackenzie reckons. 
    U.S. Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, a big solar 
power producing state, said in a Twitter post that the tariffs 
amount to "nothing more than a tax on consumers." 
    The petitioners who sought trade relief, U.S.-based solar 
manufacturers Suniva and SolarWorld, had asked the Trump 
administration for the equivalent of a 50 percent tariff, 
arguing they cannot compete with the cheap imports that have   
caused panel prices to fall more than 30 percent since 2016. 
    Bankrupt Suniva is majority-owned by Hong Kong-based 
Shunfeng International Clean Energy  1165.HK , and SolarWorld is 
the U.S. arm of Germany's SolarWorld AG  SWVKk.F . Shunfeng was 
up 2.6 percent after the announcement while SolarWorld was up 21 
percent. 
    Other U.S. solar stocks were mixed, with SunPower Corp 
 SPWR.O , which manufactures panels in Asia, down more than 6 
percent and residential installer SunRun Inc.  RUN.O  up about 6 
percent. The tariffs were broadly in line with investor 
expectations, creating some relief in the market, analysts said. 
    CHINA COMPLAINS 
    The decision was a blow for overseas solar manufacturers, 
with industry experts anticipating fewer sales in the United 
States, the world's fourth-largest solar market after China, 
Japan and Germany.  
    Globally, solar capacity soared to almost 400 GW last year 
from under 10 GW in 2007, according to the International 
Renewable Energy Administration.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1PI08F 
    China branded the move an "overreaction" that would harm the 
global trade environment for affected products. 
    "The U.S.'s decision ... is an abuse of trade remedy 
measures, and China expresses strong dissatisfaction regarding 
this," Wang Hejun, the head of the commerce ministry's Trade 
Remedy and Investigation Bureau, said in a statement on its 
microblog. 
    "China will work with other (World Trade Organization) WTO 
members to resolutely defend its legitimate interests in 
response to the erroneous U.S. decision." 
 
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Trump slaps steep U.S. tariffs on imported washers, solar panels 
    ID:nL2N1PH1WV  
U.S. solar sector says Trump tariffs will kill American jobs    
 ID:nL2N1PI1BQ  
Asia fears U.S. tariffs on washing machines, solar panels just 
the start     ID:nL4N1PI1AV  
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 (Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Susan Thomas) 
 ((nichola.groom@thomsonreuters.com;)) 
 
Keywords: USA TRADE/TARIFFS