On October 31, 2017, the US International Trade Commission (ITC)
released its recommendations to impose a tariff on imported solar
equipment. The proposals it issued, however, would result in duties
substantially lower than those sought by the petitioners. The
ITC's four commissioners issued several remedy recommendations,
including, at the high end, a 35 percent tariff on imported solar
modules and a 30 percent tariff on solar cells. This would result
in an estimated 10-13 cent per watt increase on imported solar
panels, far below the tariff levels requested by the
petitioners.
In May, Suniva, a US solar cell manufacturer, filed a petition
at the ITC requesting relief from foreign imports. The petition
alleged that a global imbalance in supply and demand in solar cells
and modules and a surge of cheap imports caused serious injury to
the domestic solar manufacturing industry. SolarWorld, another US
manufacturer, joined the petition and the ITC instituted
