一批美国太阳能制造商于8月16日向美国商务部提交请愿书，指控中国公司正在规避对晶体硅光伏电池和组件的反倾销和反补贴税令，并呼吁将双反附加税扩大到中国以外的规避实体。

这个自称 "美国太阳能制造商反对中国规避行为"的行业组织（A-SMACC是由几个美国国内太阳能制造商组成的联盟）要求美商务部调查从越南、马来西亚和泰国公司进口的某些太阳能产品。

该组织称，来自上述这些国家的太阳能产品是从中国采购，并经过 "小规模加工"以达到规避反倾销/反补贴指令的目的。而在该请愿书中，其组织成员的企业名称信息已被隐藏。

美国国际贸易委员会于2011年11月对从中国进口的CSPV电池进行了反倾销/反补贴调查，商务部于2012年12月发出了反倾销/反补贴命令。在2019年的审查之后，美国商务部认为取消反倾销税将会继续损害美国企业利益，遂决定对相关太阳能电池产品继续实施反倾销/反补贴令。

该组织表示，美国商务部的上述这些命令亦适用于 "无论是否组装成模块"的电池，在中国制造的电池、在中国用中国电池制造的模块以及在第三国用中国电池制造的模块都受制于这些命令。

请愿书同时列举了一些贸易数据：美国从中国进口的太阳能电池和组件在命令实施后大幅下降，从2011年到2020年，中国进口产品的价值下降了86%。同时，自越南、马来西亚和泰国的进口大幅上升，2020年从越南进口了价值超过16亿美元的产品，从马来西亚进口了价值23亿美元的产品，从泰国进口了价值14亿美元的产品，而2011年分别为130万美元、5.76亿美元和约33.6万美元。

A-SMACC辩称，从这些国家进口的产品依赖于中国原产的投入，并称自反倾销/反补贴命令生效以来，中国在太阳能行业的主导地位只增不减。

该组织在一份声明中说："虽然中国公司现在几乎只从东南亚向美国出口，但绝大多数的制造、研发和资本投资仍然在中国。"在这样的情况下，法律是明确的；对中国太阳能产品的关税应该扩展到规避实体。否则，我们的行业很可能会屈服于垄断控制，我们的能源安全将面临风险，拜登政府以清洁能源制造业重建更好的目标将受到严重威胁。"

根据请愿人的说法，中国在太阳能硅片市场上特别占优势，2018年占全球硅片产量的93%。

除了对中国太阳能产品的反倾销/反补贴命令外，美国在2018年对硅光伏电池和组件征收关税。ITC本月早些时候对是否延长根据《1974年贸易法》第201条实施的这一补救措施展开了调查。关税将于明年到期。调查是在两家美国太阳能制造商提出要求后进行的。

根据Roth Capital Partners上周发表的研究报告，自该命令生效以来，有一家公司约100多个集装箱的产品组件被扣留，总容量约为30至35兆瓦，不过该投行的一位消息人士称，实际数量可能比这高2至3倍。另据一位贸易律师称，被扣押的集装箱来自中国生产商Jinko Solar，该公司是被指控逃避反倾销/反补贴命令的公司之一。

以上为粗略翻译，仅供参考，详情请见原文

ORIGINAL TEXT / 原文

U.S. industry petitions Commerce to address alleged solar AD/CVD dodging

August 17, 2021 at 5:47

A group of U.S. solar manufacturers on Monday filed petitions with the Commerce Department alleging that Chinese companies are evading antidumping and countervailing duty orders on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules and calling for duties to be extended to circumventing entities outside of China.

The industry group, calling itself the American Solar Manufacturers Against Chinese Circumvention (or “A-SMACC”), requested that Commerce investigate imports of certain solar products from companies in Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, where it says components are diverted from China and go through “minor processing” to circumvent AD/CVD orders, according to petitions on each country. A-SMACC is a coalition of several domestic solar manufactures. The names of its members are redacted in the petitions seen by Inside U.S. Trade.

The U.S. International Trade Commission initiated AD/CVD investigations into imports of CSPV cells from China in November 2011, and Commerce imposed AD/CVD orders in December 2012, according to the petitions. Following a review in 2019, Commerce determined the orders should continue.

The petitioners note that the orders apply to cells “whether or not assembled into modules” and state that Commerce has found that “cells manufactured in China, modules manufactured in China with Chinese cells, and modules manufactured in third countries from Chinese cells are subject to the Orders.”

According to the petitions, U.S. imports of solar cells and modules from China dropped significantly after the orders were imposed, with an 86 percent decline in the value of Chinese imports of the products from 2011 to 2020. Meanwhile, imports from Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand have risen considerably, the industry group wrote. The U.S. in 2020 imported more than $1.6 billion worth of the products from Vietnam, $2.3 billion worth of the products from Malaysia and $1.4 billion worth of the products from Thailand, compared to $1.3 million, $576 million and about $336,000, respectively, in 2011, according to the petitions.

A-SMACC contends that imports from those countries rely on Chinese-origin inputs and states that China’s dominance in the solar industry has only increased since the AD/CVD orders took effect.

“While Chinese companies now almost exclusively export to the United States from Southeast Asia, the vast majority of manufacturing, research and development, and capital investment remain in China,” the group said in a statement. “In cases like this the law is clear; the duties on Chinese solar products should be extended to circumventing entities. Otherwise, it is likely that our industry will succumb to monopoly control, our energy security will be at risk, and the Biden Administration’s goal to Build Back Better with clean energy manufacturing will be gravely imperiled.”

According to the petitioners, China is especially dominant in the solar wafer market, accounting for 93 percent of global wafer production in 2018.

In addition to the AD/CVD orders on Chinese solar products, the U.S. in 2018 imposed tariffs on silicon photovoltaic cells and modules. The ITC earlier this month opened an investigation into whether to extend that remedy, imposed under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974. The tariffs are set to expire next year. The probe followed a request from two U.S. solar manufacturers that said extending the remedy was critical to ensuring U.S. “solar energy independence” and expressed a commitment to on-shoring the solar supply chain, including components like cells and wafers.

Solar panel materials from China also have sparked forced-labor concerns. U.S. Customs and Borders Protection in June issued a withhold-release order on silica-based products -- critical solar panel materials -- made by Hoshine Silicon Industry Co., Ltd., and its subsidiaries based on “information reasonably indicating” the company uses forced labor, according to a White House statement. About half of the world’s polysilicon comes from Xinjiang, where China has come under fire for its detainment of Uyghur Muslims.

According to research published last week by Roth Capital Partners, more than 100 containers of modules -- representing about 30 to 35 megawatts total -- from a single company have been detained under the order since it went into place, though one of the investment bank’s sources said the real volume could be two to three times higher. According to a trade attorney, the detained containers were from Chinese producer Jinko Solar, which is among the companies alleged to be evading AD/CVD orders.