US imposes moderate tariffs on Chinese solar panels

New York Times : After the US Commerce Department concluded that China gave illegal export subsidies to its solar panel manufacturers, the US decided to impose tariffs of 2.9–4.73% on all solar panels imported from China. Chinese solar panels control about half of the current US market; US panels control less than a third. Although the new tariffs may not greatly affect the market, much steeper tariffs could be imposed this May if the Commerce Department finds that China is “dumping” solar panels into the US market at prices below their actual cost. Over the last four years, low-cost Chinese panels have driven down the cost of solar energy by two-thirds across the globe. The low costs benefit solar energy users but cause difficulties for US panel manufacturers, three of whom went bankrupt last year.