The International Trade Commission published notices in the Oct. 18 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):
Section 201 Safeguards
Section 201 or “safeguard” actions are steps the President can take to provide temporary relief for an industry through the imposition of tariffs or quotas to create a more competitive environment for said industry. Section 201 actions are considered consistent with U.S. international obligations if they conform to the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Safeguards. To enact Section 201 Safeguards, a U.S. company must first file a complaint with the International Trade Commission, which then makes a determination if the industry is injured by the importation of the goods in question. If the investigation is affirmative, the President may enact the safeguards.
The International Trade Commission reached an affirmative injury determination in its Section 201 safeguard investigation on large residential washers, the ITC announced Oct. 5. Section 201 allows the president to impose tariffs or other import restrictions on all imports of products the ITC finds to injure U.S. industry. The investigation now moves to a remedy phase, where the ITC will hold a hearing on Oct. 19 to determine what remedies should be imposed, and is expected to send the president its final report -- to include potential recommendations for remedial action -- by Dec. 4. The ITC is expected to vote on what relief to recommend to the White House to address the injury of large residential washer imports to U.S. industry, Whirlpool said in a statement. President Donald Trump will then have about two months to adopt or reject the ITC’s recommendations, or opt to set other trade restrictions.
SolarWorld is suggesting that the International Trade Commission recommend to the White House both a tariff and quota on crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) cells, and is supporting Suniva’s request for an initial price floor of $0.74 per watt, according to documents filed with the ITC. The ITC on Sept. 22 announced an affirmative injury determination in its Section 201 safeguard investigation on CSPV cells (see 1709220044). The investigation now moves to a remedy phase, wherein the ITC will hold a hearing on Oct. 3 to determine what remedies, if any, should be proposed, and is expected to send the president its final report of potential recommendations for remedial action by Nov. 13.
The International Trade Commission reached an affirmative injury determination in its Section 201 safeguard investigation on crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) cells, the ITC announced Sept. 22. Section 201 allows the president to impose tariffs on all imports of products the ITC finds to injure U.S. industry. The investigation now moves to a remedy phase, wherein the ITC will hold a hearing on Oct. 3 to determine what remedies should be imposed, and is expected to send the president its final report -- to include potential recommendations for remedial action -- by Nov. 13. President Donald Trump will then have about two months to adopt or reject the ITC’s recommendations, or opt to set other trade restrictions.
Five Oregon Democratic lawmakers on Aug. 17 nudged the International Trade Commission to find injury to domestic industry based on an April Suniva petition to raise tariffs and set minimum prices for solar module imports. A letter from Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden, and Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Kurt Schrader and Peter DeFazio to ITC Chairwoman Rhonda Schmidtlein follows an Aug. 11 letter to Schmidtlein urging a rejection of the petition (see 1708140025). “A global surge of imports has jeopardized the survival of the high-tech U.S. solar manufacturing industry, and we believe that the evidence presented, including with respect to producers in our state, supports a positive finding of injury.” Over 30 U.S. solar manufacturers have closed since 2010 because of global overcapacity and imports from countries including China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and others, despite two successful U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty cases (see 1707240047), the lawmakers said.
A bipartisan group of 16 senators and 53 House lawmakers urged the International Trade Commission Aug. 11 to reject an April Suniva petition to impose “high” tariffs and “high” minimum prices for solar module imports. If the trade case significantly raises solar prices, recent growth in solar investments, installations and jobs could be at risk, according to the senators' letter to ITC Chairwoman Rhonda Schmidtlein, led by Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C. Reps. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., Mike Thompson, D-Calif., Pat Meehan, R-Pa., and Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., led the House letter. “As U.S. Senators representing states that have a growing solar industry, we write to express our deep concern with the pending Section 201 global safeguard case,” the officials wrote. Suniva’s petition seeks four years of duties on solar cells starting at $0.40 per watt, as well as a minimum price for solar modules starting at $0.78 per watt (see 1704260045).
The International Trade Commission recently launched a Section 201 safeguard investigation on imports of large residential washers, it said in a notice (here). Whirlpool requested the safeguard duties in a petition filed May 31, subsequently amended in early June. The investigation will determine whether to impose a tariff-rate quota on large residential washers imported from any country, though some countries with preferential trade agreements with the U.S. may be exempt, Whirlpool said in its petition.
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The International Trade Commission recently launched a Section 201 safeguard investigation on imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) cells and modules, according to documents available on an ITC database. Requested by Suniva in April (see 1704260045), the investigation will determine whether to impose additional duties and minimum price floors on solar cells and modules imported from any country. SolarWorld, another U.S. producer of solar cells, subsequently joined the investigation as a petitioner, it said in an April 25 press release (here).
A U.S. manufacturer of solar cells filed a petition on April 26 with the International Trade Commission seeking Section 201 safeguard duties on all imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules. Suniva seeks four years of duties on solar cells starting at $0.40 per watt, as well as a minimum price for solar modules starting at $0.78 per watt.