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Solar Panel Trade War Heats Up
Hugh Pickens writes "Reuters reports that Chinese solar companies could soon find themselves bereft of some of their biggest foreign markets as Western manufacturers intensify a solar trade war and seek stiff anti-dumping duties on low-cost Chinese products. German group SolarWorld says it is working on steps to curb alleged price dumping by Chinese rivals in Europe as a group of seven U.S. solar companies urges the U.S. government to slap anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made solar energy products. Western solar companies have been at odds with their Chinese counterparts for years, alleging they receive lavish credit lines to offer modules at cheaper prices. 'American solar operations should be rapidly expanding to keep pace with the skyrocketing demand for these products,' says Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon whose office authored a whitepaper called 'China's Grab for Green Jobs.' (PDF) 'But that is not what has been happening. There seems to be one primary explanation for this; that is, that China is cheating.'"
And China was cheating no doubt with making cheap Reeboks and Nike's and stuff for US multinationals... Oh yeah, sorry, forgot. Those were US owned Multinationals getting all the profit then.
I guess the difference between dumping and competing is whether you're ripping off the consumer and greedy multinational corporations are soaking up all those tax-free dollars or not.
We are all producers and consumers. As producers we want our products to be rare and expensive. As consumers we want our products to be plentiful and cheap. You have to decide what type of world you want to live in. One that has plenty of inexpensive things or a few expensive things. I'll take cheap and plentiful.
Let's say the Chinese decided that the US was too dependent on foreign oil and as a buddy they wanted to supply us with free solar panels. As much as they could make. Would this be a good thing or bad thing? For consumers it would be great but for producers of solar panels it would be terrible. To have progress as a society you have to let consumers rule.
I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
It's not entirely about the environmental regulations. In addition to toxic waste spewing all over their country, Chinese workers don't have the kind of labor protections that European and even US workers currently have, like protection from unpaid overtime, workplace safety laws so they don't get killed on the job, minimum wages, collective bargaining rights, child labor laws, etc.
I am officially gone from
This is basically what is going on and not just in solar cells but also in rare earth minerals. Similar problem. Low concentrations demand leaching with rather aggressive and toxic chemicals, that are expensive to capture and recycle. Importing them from China in the name of Free Markets has no different result as producing them in the USA and dumping the waste on China.
The whole "buy Chinese stuff and blame them for their CO2 emissions" business is yet another example.
Cheating:
- Governmental currency manipulation which is pretty much a certainty.
- "Product Dumping", e.g. selling a product at below production cost (either by simply eating the loss or cutting corners and dumping an inferior, unsafe product) so as to drive competitors out of the market and then price-gouge once you're the only supplier (already seen in some markets where China did, in fact, run US companies out of business)
- Rampant theft of intellectual property - we're not just talking Napster-grade "file sharing" here, we are talking about rampant spying and thievery of patented products and designs. As the last article I link shows, it's not just the US getting burned by the Chinese - this is a major point of concern in the EU as well.
Are you getting some form of a clue now?
If they are excessive... How come Germany and the rest of Norther Europe is doing so damn well?
One of the secrets is the universal health care and other social programs, which in fact reduce the overall cost of employment in society by making employees more efficient and cutting out parasites like health insurance companies. (Healthcare cost is 6-8% versus 17% in the US, and there's no 'insurance' companies taking 30% cut in pure profits out of healthcare spending)
The Chinese government hands cash to their panel manufacturers
Right. Let me stop you there because you have no idea what you are talking about. The majority of funding in China is through the CDB loan financing. Now explain please, how Chinese CDB loan guarantees any different than US DOE guarantees (e.g. Solandra, First Solar, SunPower) except the magnitude? They aren't different. Not to mention that about 90% of CDB loan guarantees have not been used yet because they are explicitly for projects financing (e.g capital for PV parks), an area where Chinese PV firms are still way behind their western counterparts.
Chinese firms have primarily expanded using private money based on share offerings in the U.S. markets, secondary offerings, and bond offerings and the US and Chinese markets. The Chinese have spent billions in private financing over the past 4-6 yr. increasing output, The newest Chinese facilities are driving down prices
Chinese got into PV with newer and cheaper (American and German) equipment and they have more recent land & tax deals with local governments (e.g. Evergreen solar, First Solar) . That's it. U.S. firms are crying because a third of Chinese capacity of c-Si PV can run a profit at an unsubsidized price of 1.00 $/pW. There are plenty of Chinese whining too. Guess what is happening to the whiners? They are done. Some are dumping inventory on their way out the door, depressing prices slightly more in the short run. Out-competed. Destructive capitalism. Much like the entire fraudulent U.S economy.
This ridiculous argument about quality is always the losers last appeal. Chinese Tier 1 produces can match any western mfging quality. Highest quality poly panels are sourced entirely from Chinese/Taiwanese owned Taiwanese polysilicon and mainland Chinese wafer, cell, and module production. Two prominent firms I can think of have recently stepped up to the plate with 20 & 25 yr power output warranties. Several of the Tier 2 produces can probably boast ever high quality, they just lack the reputation. . yet. Why don't you explain how their quality will be inferior after recruiting the most experienced engineers, buying the newest equipment, and contracting with the best western process and construction companies. What's left inferior nature of the Chinese people/culture?
The US has lost solar and Germany is too small to keep up. Fair and square in an utterly ruthless and brutal capitalistic process. The Chinese will feel the pain too, many of them are finished and a very stressful period of consolidation and bankruptcy will soon begin. Things will stabilize and cSi PV will become a globally traded every conversion commodity that is cheaper than everything except 160MW ICC gas turbines at 2009 natural gas prices. It's already done. Let's just hope CDB doesn't just spend a few billion and buy global PV capacity for the Chinese government. I would if I were them.
On May 2nd, 1933, the day after Labor day, Nazi groups occupied union halls and labor leaders were arrested. Trade Unions were outlawed by Adolf Hitler, while collective bargaining and the right to strike was abolished.
Lenin, at the behest of Stalin and Trotsky, banned trade unions in favor of "total government union." Stalin followed this up by increasingly draconian laws that docked a worker 25% of a day's pay for being a mere 20 minutes late to work, and imposed prison sentences for anyone who attempted to quit their assigned job.
Chairman Mao eliminated trade unions, in a move very reminiscent of Stalin. More recently, China created the "All China Federation of Trade Unions", a front organization whose primary purpose is to serve as an enforcement arm of the Chinese Communist Party. No actual trade unions or labor bargaining are allowed to exist.
In 2011, in multiple states in the US, the Republican Party... abolished unions.
Hey, keep your damn logic out of this, universal health care and social programs will turn any country into the USSR and you know it!
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel