{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://nolan.house.gov//media-center/in-the-news/pv-tech-itc-hearing-marks-beginning-of-end-to-us-china-trade-case", "PV Tech: ITC hearing marks beginning of end to US-China trade case", "2014-12-11", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "MN", "Rick Nolan", "N000127", "nolan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Witnesses from SolarWorld, Trina, Yingli, SunEdison, Gintech and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) gave evidence in Washington on Monday as the US-China trade row approaches its conclusion.\nAn International Trade Commission (ITC) hearing today will see evidence for and against the imposition of anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duties as both sides debate whether Chinese imports have damaged the domestic US solar sector.\nThe Department of Commerce is expected on 16 December to make its final decision regarding punitive duties in the cases. Preliminary anti-subsidy duties of up to\u00a035% were announced in June and anti-dumping rates of up to 165% were revealed in July.\nHowever, if the ITC rules that no damage was done to the US industry, the DoC\u2019s final tariffs will not be imposed. The ITC is expected to give its verdict in January.\nThe draft witness list correct as of Thursday 4 December, show that the argument for duties had called witnesses from SolarWorld, Silicon Energy, US Senator for Oregon Ron Wyden and Congressman Rick Nolan (Rep-Mn.).\nThe argument against has called witnesses from the SEIA, a host of tier-one Chinese manufacturers, US firm SunEdison and a number of Taiwanese manufacturers.\nAfter duties were imposed on Chinese products in 2012, the latest case deals with Chinese products that used Taiwanese cells in order to sidestep the criteria in the prior case.\nSolarWorld Americas\u2019 president Mukesh Dulani told the hearing that despite some recent improvements for the US solar industry, its recovery was fragile.\n\u201cI have no doubt that the US industry\u2019s condition would immediately worsen again if final duties are not imposed,\u201d he said.\u00a0\nCongressman Nolan, whose state is home to module manufacturer Silicon Energy, said:\n\u201c\u2026It is possible that the future is very bright for the domestic solar industry. US solar demand is growing, and US producers are developing and making excellent products to meet that demand. However, your work today is critically important to this recovery.\u00a0 Without these cases, the harm to the US industry and its workers will continue and worsen.\u201d\nMaking the case against duties, Richard Wiener, of Sidley Austin, the firm representing Chinese manufacturers said:\u00a0\u201cIf SolarWorld succeeds, the burgeoning US solar industry will grind to a halt, because the domestic industry cannot satisfy US solar demand and because solar electricity would be uncompetitive at SolarWorld\u2019s desired prices. SolarWorld places in peril US climate change goals and 143,000 American solar jobs, all without benefiting US CS [crystalline silicon] PV manufacturers.\"\nA major pillar of the case regards the\u00a0\u2018scope\u2019 of the products involved. The origin of a module has previously been dictated by where the cell was produced. The latest investigation includes Taiwanese cells in an effort to stop Chinese firms from avoiding the 2012 duties on their products.\nSEIA VP for trade and competitiveness, John Smirnow, warned that adjusting this rule, as suggested by SolarWorld, could set a dangerous precedent. SolarWorld wants modules\u2019 origin to be determined by whichever country provided two out of the wafer, cell or module elements.\n\u201cUnfortunately, Commerce is seriously entertaining [SolarWorld\u2019s]\u2019s \u2018two out of three\u2019 proposition or something even more expansive. Two out of three is nothing more than a veiled attempt to circumvent US AD/CVD laws by folding separate and distinct products from multiple countries into a single investigation.\u00a0 It\u2019s wrong and it\u2019s a dangerous approach from a trade policy perspective.\u00a0\u00a0\nA further question mark hangs over the current case's process as a result of the alleged hacking of SolarWorld\u2019s computers by hackers with links to the Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army. DoC, on request of SolarWorld, is still considering how to fold these allegations into the inquiry.\nIn an apparent nod to the\u00a0cyberhacking case, Senator Ron Wyden, of SolarWorld\u2019s home state of Oregon said: \u201cUS innovation and efficiency started the world-wide growth of solar and will continue to fuel that growth so long as unfair trade practices are fully addressed. Let us not allow the innovation economy to be undermined by innovative cheating on trade. Trade enforcement must keep pace with the times.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://nolan.house.gov//media-center/in-the-news/pv-tech-itc-hearing-marks-beginning-of-end-to-us-china-trade-case"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.688509015366435, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}