After hearing days of arguments and considering dozens of
filings from solar companies both opposed to and in support of
trade action, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) today
recommended tariffs on
imported solar modules of as much as 35 percent. After
unanimously voting on Sept. 22 that the U.S. domestic industry was
seriously injured by the imports, each commissioner today offered
different remedy proposals to be included in a final report to
President Trump. The report will be made public
"promptly" after its submission, according to Section 201
of the Trade Act of 1974. President Trump will then make a decision
on the form and extent of remedies to impose.
While safeguard investigations such as the present case are not
country-specific and can lead to a ban on all imports of
crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules for up to four
years, the ITC's recommendations fell short of what the
petitioners, Suniva and SolarWorld, requested.
