Commerce Department orders tariffs on Chinese solar panels

To curb dumping from several Chinese solar panel companies, the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed 31 percent tariffs on the products, according to a May 18 article from the Wall Street Journal.

The action came in response to a complaint by the U.S. unit of German firm SolarWorld AG and a half-dozen other solar-energy companies. The Commerce Department determined that the Chinese manufacturers were selling solar panels at below-market prices, according to the WSJ article.

Cardinal Tempered Glass is among theglass industry companies feeling the effects of the Chinese pricing. In April, the companylaid off 33 employees at its plant and off-site warehouse in Chehalis, Wash., according to an April 17 article in The Chronicle. Mark Reidy, the plant manager in Chehalis, told The Chronicle that Cardinal had to lay off the employees because the Chinesewere dumping solar panels into the U.S. market at a low price. "U.S. manufacturers are paying the price for it," hewas quoted as saying.

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