Opponents Criticize Proposed Chinese Solar Panel Tariffs

Trade war would ultimately hurt United States, they argue

Critics have charged that the Commerce Department's final ruling on the controversial tariffs on Chinese-made solar cells will raise tensions with China and contribute to a growing global trade fight.

"Commerce's announcement will likely raise already-high tensions between the US and China over subsidies and trade in green goods," said Scott Lincicome, White & Case international trade attorney and author of a new Cato Institute paper on the global subsidies, in an emailed statement.

"[W]e remain concerned about the growing global trade war, which will only hurt American solar industry jobs, growth and consumers," Jigar Shah, president of Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy — which opposed the tariff — said in a statement.