The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has said that “several” subsidy programs in China have been found to be countervailable. These findings, however, have not impacted on the original preliminary countervailing duty (CVD) rates announced in March.
Yesterday, pv magazine wrote that the DOC had reportedly upped the rates Chinese photovoltaic manufacturers would have to pay for exporting their cells to the US, after having found that the Chinese manufacturers in question had been privy to both discounted electricity and “illegal” grant programs. As such, it was believed that Suntech would see its CVD rates increase from 2.9 to 3.44 percent, and Trina’s from 4.73 to 5.81 percent.
However, a DOC spokesperson has told pv magazine, “The memorandum identified several additional subsidy programs that were preliminarily deemed to be countervailable. However, no additional estimated countervailing duties, i.e., “cash deposits”, will be collected at the border based on this analysis. These preliminary findings are subject to comment by all parties, and Commerce will fully consider and address all comments in its final determination, which is scheduled to be announced on October 10.”
If the final determination rules in the US’ favor, however, Suntech will see its rates increase from 2.9 to 3.44 percent, and Trina’s from 4.73 to 5.81 percent. Regarding the remaining Chinese photovoltaic cell manufacturers, a tariff of 3.6 percent was originally applied back in March. They would, however, also see the rates raised, as a weighted average of Suntech’s and Trina’s.
This week, the DOC has begun its formal audits at the two manufacturing giants’ factories. If it makes an affirmative determination, and the US International Trade Commission (ITC) concurs that imports of cells from China materially injure, or threaten material injury to, the US industry, it will issue a CVD order. The ITC is scheduled to make its final injury determination on July 19.
