International Trade Commission holds first hearing on proposed solar tariffs

The International Trade Commission (ITC) held this week its first hearing on tariffs on imported solar cells and modules requested by two solar companies, Suniva and SolarWorld.

“Quite simply, we need the commission’s help to save solar manufacturing in the United States,” Jürgen Stein, chief executive of SolarWorld Americas, testified before the ITC. “Relief under Section 201 is our last hope.”

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) as well as numerous elected officials and U.S. trading partners testified that the proposed tariffs would serious damage to the industry.

Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Jr., a Public Service Commission member in Georgia, where Suniva is located, argued against the tariffs as did state lawmakers from Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina and Virginia.

“What was clear today is that two foreign-owned companies seeking U.S. government subsidies who disingenuously claim to represent solar manufacturing were on one side and the broader unified solar industry united on the other,” Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO, said. “We hope the ITC sees the petition for what it is, and doesn’t put the interests of two companies that made bad business decisions above those of American workers.”

The ITC must make a decision on the case by Sept. 22.