Chinese industry sources have said that there will be a severe impact, more on the US consumers and industry as compared to China if the United States continues with its move to impose extra tariffs on the solar panels imported from China. To fight back in case of a trade war, China may tax the auto exports from the US to China.
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The Donald Trump administration has approved a revised tariff of 30 percent on solar panel components and 50 percent on washing machines. A US Trade Representative confirmed the same on Monday while adding that the tariffs for solar panels would decline over the coming 4 years while the same for the washing machines would be over the next 3 years.
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While some industry sources have seen the move as one targeting China alone, Chinese experts from Sichuan University believes that the tariffs are not as bad as they seem. The experts said the US had in the year 2012 imposed tariffs of 36 percent on the solar panels from China. They added that the impact of the new tariffs will be close to negligible since the previous tariffs are still effective. According to Global Times CCEER director Lin Boqiang, on the other hand, said the tariffs are not likely to have a great impact on the Chinese industry as the biggest driver for the same is domestic demand and not the US market.
23,000 US Jobs May Be Lost To Solar Tariff Surge
Chinese industry experts said that the new tariffs will show a heavier impact on the US solar industry worth USD 28 billion while thousands of Americans could lose their jobs. The increase in tariffs would lead to an increase in prices that would result in a loss of low-cost options for the US consumers. Another spokesperson for the solar company said the price rise will result in a delay in US projects. The SEIA took to Twitter to claim that the price surge will result in losses of over 23,000 jobs.
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The Chinese MOFCOM reacted to the same saying that the US is misusing the trade remedy measures. CCEER director Lin went a step further in saying that the increase in tariffs could result in a possible trade war between China and the United States.
