Rates for Four China Solar Cell Exporters Set to Rise After CIT Remand

Four exporters of solar cells from China could face substantially higher antidumping duty rates, after the Court of International Trade on Nov. 20 granted a request from the Commerce Department to reexamine their independence from Chinese government control (here). In its AD duty investigation, completed in 2012 (here), Commerce had found Tianwei New Energy (Chengdu) PV Module Co., Ltd.; Sumec Hardware & Tools Co., Ltd.; Dongfang Electric (Yixing) MAGI Solar Power Technology; and Ningbo ETDZ Holdings Ltd. were not state-run, and thus were eligible for the 24.48% average rate assigned to non-individually investigated companies free from state control. Commerce will now take another look at its decision, in light of the fact that all four are ultimately owned by China’s State Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. If Commerce reverses its decision and finds any of the companies are government-controlled, it will assign them to the China-wide entity with an AD rate of 249.96%.