Chinese Solar Cells And The Solyndra Syndrome

It seems the Obama administration will do anything to save a handful of U.S. jobs in the manufacture of solar cells — even to the point of risking a job-killing trade war. Thursday's announcement by the Commerce Department of new duties on imported solar cells from China was good news for almost nobody. China was miffed, naturally. Much of the U.S. solar energy business was less than joyful as well. Even in solar manufacturing, reaction was mixed. Makers of solar cells are pleased; makers of raw materials and production equipment exported to China were not. And for anyone in the business of selling and installing solar systems — where most of the jobs are — the tariffs are bad news. They raise prices for a product that already has to be heavily subsidized to find a market. Companies that make solar cells in the U.S., led by the German firm SolarWorld (which makes the cells at a plant in Oregon), had complained to the administration that China was selling cells abroad at an unfairly low price. The Commerce Department gave them what they wanted on Thursday when it said it would slap a 31% tariff on solar cells from 61 named Chinese manufacturers, along with a 250% levy on cells from all others in China. This was on top of import duties of up to 4.73% imposed in March...more