Economy

Getting Tough On China

Who's getting tough on China?

Here's a hint: it's not the man who made his millions by bankrupting companies for profit and teaching others how to outsource to China.

The U.S. Commerce Department imposed significant final duties on imported solar energy products from China yesterday to counteract their below-market prices.

via Reuters

The Commerce Department said Chinese companies were "dumping" solar cells and panels in the United States at prices 18.32 percent to 249.96 percent below fair value, although some individual companies received lower anti-dumping duty rates than in a preliminary decision earlier this year.

The department also set additional countervailing duties ranging from 14.78 to 15.97 percent to combat Chinese government subsidies, significantly higher than preliminary levels. [...]

The United States also has slapped preliminary duties on wind turbine towers from China and is expected to launch a new probe next week into charges that imports of Chinese hardwood plywood are unfairly priced and subsidized.

If, as a presidential candidate, you profess the values of "American made energy," you should necessarily be happy with this decision.

The next big industry in the world is green energy, and China was undercutting American produced green energy by dumping solar cells, panels, and wind turbines at below market value.

This is not the first time the Obama administration has taken action to blunt China's shady trade practices.