Dear Federal Affairs Committee,

The U.S. Department of Commerce is expected to formally announce its preliminary determination in the Antidumping (AD) trade complaint pertaining to imported Chinese solar panels later today.  The provisional margins will be as follows:

• Suntech – 31.22%
• Trina – 31.14%
• Weighted Average – 31.18%

Full disclosure documents related to the determination will be issued at a later time. You can see the Department of Commerce's fact sheet on this ruling here. 

Below is a statement issued by Rhone Resch, SEIA's president and CEO, regarding this matter. SEIA will provide members with additional information as it becomes available.

Resch Statement:

"The solar industry calls upon the U.S. and Chinese governments to immediately work together towards a mutually-satisfactory resolution of the growing trade conflict within the solar industry.  While trade remedy proceedings are basic principles of the rules-based global trading system, so too are collaboration and negotiations.

"Importantly, disputes within one segment of the industry affect the entire solar supply chain--and these broad implications must be recognized.  In addition, the U.S. solar manufacturing base goes well beyond solar cell and module production and includes billions of dollars of recent investments into the production of polysilicon, polymers, and solar manufacturing equipment, products which are largely destined for export.  If the U.S.-China solar trade disputes continue to escalate, it will jeopardize these U.S. investments.

"Given these broader implications, it is imperative that the U.S., China, and other players in this dynamic global market work constructively to avert or resolve trade disputes that will ultimately hurt consumers and businesses throughout the solar value chain."