Asia

China’s Ministry of Commerce is arguing that the 30% import duties on solar products from China and other nations do not comply with WTO rules. The Chinese government added that its solar industry could be seriously damaged.

While the tariffs make importing solar from China even more impractical, they are unlikely to have a significant impact on trade flows or the U.S. market.

Several inverter makers could be hit by the Trump Administration’s move to increase tariffs on imports including inverters from China, but many are already shifting manufacturing to other locations.

U.S. President Donald Trump has asked trade officials to consider increasing import duties from 10% to 25% on a list of products from China including inverters, AC modules and non-lithium batteries.

The company has brought its operating margin to below -1%, as it fends off component shortages, short sellers and potential tariffs.

The PV maker plans to shift its 800 MW of current E-Series production to its new NGT technology, as it records a massive loss on depreciation of its old equipment.

The thin film PV maker reports difficulties in ramping its new Series 6 product, as well as pressure from module price collapses.

The polysilicon maker has been a casualty of the trade war between the United States and China. Following layoffs, the company expects its plant in Washington to run at only 25% capacity until the trade war is resolved.

The Chinese ingot, wafer cell and module giant has signed a significant sales contract for the shipment of solar PV modules to an unidentified customer in the United States.

The latest reports from analysts at PV InfoLink and EnergyTrend show prices continuing to fall, though at a slower rate than was immediately seen after China’s 31/5 announcements. High efficiency mono-PERC modules fell to around $0.32/W, while multicrystalline module prices held steady at between $0.26 and $0.29/W.