America's Solar Trade War Escalates

In the four decades since congress passed the 1974 Trade Act, there have been 75 cases when U.S. industries used the law to argue that imports caused them injury. The list of aggrieved industries is wide-ranging: footwear, CB radios, mushrooms, lamb meat, clothespins and steel. And now, solar. Over the years, the International Trade Commission has ruled in favor of petitioners roughly half the time. But according to a study from Georgetown Law, which analyzed the impacts of import penalties on lamb meat, line pipe and gluten, "none of the three industries were restored to sustained competitiveness" because of protectionist measures. Last Friday, the ITC determined that US solar manufacturers faced harm from imports. If penalties are imposed, will the result be any different? This week, we discuss the next steps in the solar industry's latest controversial trade case. Recommended reading: The Effects of Section 201 Safeguards on U.S. Industries: http://bit.ly/2wh5tHL 6 Ways to Encourage American Solar Manufacturing Without Import Duties: http://bit.ly/2yBZ9fp Foreign Solar Manufacturers Weigh Opening US Facilities as Tariff Decision Looms: http://bit.ly/2hhX97Z