China Solar Products: Chinese Government Considering Suspension Agreement

The Chinese government is considering an agreement to settle the ongoing antidumping duty investigation on crystalline silicon photovoltaic products from China (A-570-010), according to documents it recently filed with the Commerce Department. In an Aug. 8 letter, China said it is “considering the possibility of negotiating a Suspension Agreement with respect to this investigation,” and asked for a week-long extension of the applicable deadline. Commerce subsequently granted the extension, giving China until Aug. 15 to submit a proposed suspension agreement. If a suspension agreement is finalized, Commerce will end its investigation in return for guarantees that China will stop dumping or even stop exporting subject merchandise to the U.S. altogether. The agreement would be subject to monitoring and periodic reviews, and Commerce would be able to reinstate its investigation if it finds China is failing to comply. Commerce set AD duty cash deposit requirements at 26.33% to 165.04% in its preliminary determination issued at the end of July (see 14073011). Solar products from China are also subject to a countervailing duty investigation (see 14060914).