China’s commerce ministry said a U.S. decision to subsidize renewable energy firms and impose tariffs on imported products has distorted the global market and harmed China’s interests, Reuters reported.
China has lodged a complaint to the World Trade Organisation to help determine the legality of the US policies. China said the US policies are harming China’s rights and undermine the WTO’s authority, the ministry said on its website on Tuesday.
Washington announced in January that it was imposing what it called safeguard tariffs over four years – with a 30 percent tariff in the first year reduced gradually to 15 percent in year four.
“As the U.S. violations have distorted the global market for products like photovoltaics and seriously damaged China’s trade interests, China’s use of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism is a necessary measure to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests and maintain multilateral trade rules,” the commerce ministry statement said.
The move is not expected to have an immediate impact on China’s solar manufacturers, including GCL, Jinko Solar and Canadian Solar, as their exposure to US markets was reduced after earlier trade disputes.
The United States has accused China of using subsidies and bulk manufacturing capacity to drive down prices and put US competitors out of business in a range of sectors.
According to figures from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), US solar module production capacity fell from 1.5 gigawatts in 2011 to 1 GW last year as a result of bankruptcies.
China claims its manufacturers have benefited not from direct subsidy but from a fierce competitive environment that has driven down costs.
This year, its firms are facing a new wave of closures after the country’s state planning agency announced plans to cap new capacity at just 30 GW this year, down from a record 53 GW in 2017.
Despite the policy shift, manufacturers have continued to ramp up production, with silicon wafer output up 39 percent in the first half.
From January to May, exports of solar products also surged 21 percent year-on-year. Only a fraction went to the United States, with India the biggest market.