SolarWorld says solar issues should be discussed during Xi's visit to US

The US subsidiary of SolarWorld (ETR:SWV) is hoping that China’s aggressive trade practices in the solar sector would be discussed during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the US, beginning today.

The photovoltaics (PV) maker has been fighting hard for the imposition of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures against Chinese solar imports both in the US and Europe. In a statement on Wednesday it again accused China of “employing an arsenal of price dumping, massive subsidization, cyber-espionage and closed markets” to hurt the US solar industry.

SolarWorld earlier this year applauded the Trump Administration’s move for strict enforcement of US trade laws, and it now requests that the solar issue is included in the consultations between China and the US.

Recently, there have been announcements of job cuts by PV manufacturers in the US, which, according to SolarWorld, is due to Chinese prices that are below production costs. The company says that China’s state-financed solar overcapacities would be enough to supply the global market roughly 1.3 times.

“For the sake of the solar industry in the West, it is now time for stiffer, more concerted action,” said Juergen Stein, US president of SolarWorld.

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