Tariff on Solar Imports May be Challenged

October 2, 2009

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A recent decision to impose tariffs on a type of Chinese solar panels could eventually extend to other such imports, raising the cost of installing solar in the U.S.

The solar industry hopes to reverse the 2.5 percent tariff, reports Reuters.

The Solar Energy Industries Association, which has both U.S. and foreign membership, said it is taking the tariff “very seriously,” and that it is preparing a challenge, according to the article.

Some say U.S. solar importers could pay up to $70 million tariffs and penalties for products already imported.

The tariff relates to the U.S. Customs service ruling that a panel made by China’s Trina Solar was a generator, due to the fact it has a diode to allow electric current to pass around shaded areas of the solar panel.

The solar industry says this ruling is problematic because all solar panels contain bypass diodes, meaning that the tariff could conceivably be extended to other manufacturers’ products.

If the solar industry is unsuccessful in persuading Customs to reverse its ruling, it may take the case to the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, according to the article.

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