U.S. Affirms Steep Tariffs on China Solar Panels

October 12, 2012 by Leave a comment

Employees assemble photovoltaic panels at Suntech Power Holdings Co.’s factory in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China, in 2011.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration upheld steep tariffs on Chinese solar panelsWednesday, finding that improper trade practices have undermined an American solar industry that the largest U.S. manufacturer says is in the midst of collapse.

In one of the largest trade cases the U.S. has pursued against the Asian superpower, the Commerce Department said China’s government is subsidizing companies that are flooding the U.S. market with low-cost products — a tactic known as “dumping.” To counteract those price cuts, the U.S. government imposed tariffs ranging from 18 percent to nearly 250 percent.

For some Chinese companies, those tariffs are lower than preliminary tariffs imposed in May.

Still, another set of duties dealing with improper subsidies was increased dramatically. While the initial ruling levied anti-subsidy fees ranging from 2.9 percent to 4.7 percent, the final ruling issued Wednesday sets those fees at 14.8 percent to 16 percent.

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Filed under Business, Certifications, China, Currency Manipulation, Defense, Economy, Energy, Espionage, Labor, Manufacturing, Solar, Tariff Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Woman says jerky treats made in China made her dog sick

September 20, 2012 by Leave a comment

AUSTIN — An Austin pet owner says jerky treats from China almost killed her dog.

Pat Richardson had no idea her dog Allie was sick until she took her to the veterinarian for an annual check-up. A routine blood test revealed her five-year-old Cairn Terrier had kidney problems. Her vet helped her pinpoint the cause to a treat Richardson fed her dog every day.

“It’s a family member, and I thought if I had done something to harm her, it was devastating,” said Richardson.

Richardson fed her dog Waggin Trails chicken jerky treats every morning. They are made by Nestle Purina in China. Purina is now the target of a class action lawsuit connected to animal deaths and jerky treats.

“Those treats said they were chicken breast and glycerin and no other ingredients at all,” said Richardson.

Richardson paid roughly $1,000 in vet bills for her dog Allie to recover.

The FDA is investigating jerky treats from China linked to 2,200 pet illnesses in all 50 states. In the past 18 months, 360 dogs and one cat have died. The FDA has not singled out a specific brand or banned any of the treats.

“We don’t really know where the sickness is coming from or the exact ingredients that’s causing it, so just use care and caution,” said Dr. Shannon James with the Capital Veterinary Clinic.

Dr. James suggests pet owners should read all labels before giving their animals any food.
“If you are going to give a treat, it’s best to know exactly where that treat is being made and how healthy it is for your pet,” said James.
If your pet is having a problem, you can go here to file a report.

Source:http://www.khou.com/community/blogs/animal-attraction/Woman-says-jerky-treats-made-in-China-made-her-dog-sick-170320956.html

Filed under China, Food, Pet, COOL Country of origin labeling, Tainted Products, Currency Manipulation, Power of Consumers, Recall Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

China escalates U.S. trade dispute, requests WTO decision

August 24, 2012 by Leave a comment

The low cost of labour, coupled with the massive scale of production at its 14,000-person plant, have enabled China’s Suntech to become the global industry leader in solar power in just a decade

GENEVA (Reuters) – In a move that escalates a trade row with the United States, China said it would ask the World Trade Organization (WTO) to adjudicate a dispute over U.S. punitive import duties on 22 Chinese exports, including solar panels and steel products.

China first brought the complaint to the WTO in May by asking the United States for formal “consultations” to explain the duties, which Washington says are intended to offset illegal subsidies that gave Chinese goods an unfair price advantage.

WTO rules entitle China to demand adjudication after a 60 day period of consultations. China will make the demand for adjudication at a meeting of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body on Aug 31, China said in a statement circulated to WTO members this week.

The office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in May that China’s decision to bring the dispute to the WTO was “premature and not an appropriate use of dispute settlement system resources”, because the U.S. Department of Commerce was already working to address the issues raised by China.

But China’s statement said two subsequent rounds of talks, on June 25 and July 18, had failed to resolve the dispute, which includes wind towers, as well as certain types of steel pipe, wire, cylinders and wheels, aluminum extrusions, wood flooring, magnesia bricks, thermal and coated paper and citric acid.

China is by far the world’s biggest producer of steel and is also a leading maker of clean energy equipment such as solar panels and wind towers, helped by Beijing’s ambition of tackling carbon emissions without slowing China’s growth.

Foreign competitors complain that its oversupply is the result of a market that is driven by forces such as government edicts and subsidies rather than fundamental supply and demand, and China has created surpluses that distort the global market.

China decided to bring the latest WTO complaint, which it says affects exports worth $7.3 billion, after winning a previous WTO dispute last year over U.S. duties on imports of Chinese steel pipes, off-road tires and woven sacks.

Many of China’s grievances might have been dealt with by a U.S. court decision last year, which struck down the Commerce Department’s ability to impose anti-subsidy duties on “non-market economies” like China.

But the U.S. Congress voted to restore it in March, ensuring U.S. duties on about two dozen Chinese goods stayed in place.

The case is one of several currently “live” disputes between the United States and China at the WTO.

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White House Response to U.S. Drought of 2012

August 8, 2012 by Leave a comment

 

President Barack Obama meets with the White House Rural Council to discuss ongoing efforts in response to the drought, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Aug. 7, 2012. Among those attending with the President were, from left, Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Karen Mills, Administrator of the Small Business Administration. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Throughout much of the country, communities are struggling with one of the worst droughts to strike the U.S. in decades. The lack of rain and high temperatures have done considerable damage to crops — particularly those in the Midwest.

Today, President Obama met with the White House Rural Council to discuss the steps being taken to help farmers, ranchers, and small businesses wrestling with this crisis.

As part of that response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that it will provide millions of dollars in assistance to restore livestock lands affected by the drought. The USDA will spend $16 million on technical and financial assistance for those whose crops or herds have suffered.

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Filed under Business, COOL Country of origin labeling, Economy, Farming, Food, Government, Made in USA, Political, USDA Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Death By China

August 3, 2012 by 3 Comments

 

Best-selling author and filmmaker Peter Navarro brings us DEATH BY CHINA, a documentary feature confronting America’s most urgent problem — its increasingly destructive trade relationship with China. 

Since the communist nation began flooding U.S. markets with illegally subsidized products in 2001, over 50,000 American factories have disappeared, putting than 25 million Americans out of work. The United States, as a result, now owes more than 3 trillion dollars to the world’s largest totalitarian nation.

Through compelling interviews with voices across the political spectrum, DEATH BY CHINA exposes our nation’s broken relationship with China and why it must be fixed for the world to be a place of peace and prosperity.

Filed under China, COOL Country of origin labeling, Currency Manipulation, Defense, Education, Espionage, Government, Illegal Workers, Industry, Jobs, Labor, Political, Power of Consumers, Tariff, Tariff, Tax, Tax, Toys Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

‘Insourcing’ bill fails to advance in the Senate

July 20, 2012 by 1 Comment

 

(Karen Bleier – AFP/Getty Images)

The Senate failed to advance a bill Thursday that would end tax breaks for large companies that relocate jobs overseas and provide tax credits to firms that bring jobs back to the United States.

Senators voted 56 to 42 to proceed to final consideration of the Bring Jobs Home Act, falling short of the 60 votes necessary in order to proceed. The White House expressed strong support for the measure, which is packed with proposals from Senate Democrats facing reelection and eager to demonstrate efforts to shore up the nation’s struggling manufacturing sector.

The bill would eliminate tax deductions that companies may take when moving workers and equipment overseas, but establish a new 20 percent tax deduction for companies that do the reverse.

Republicans objected to the bill in part because Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) blocked GOP amendments to the bill, including a proposal to repeal the 2010 health-care reform act. Senate Republicans this month also attempted to amend a small business tax cut bill with language repealing the health law. Some GOP senators also complained that Democrats bypassed the normal committee process and quickly introduced the bill for election-year political purposes.

Democrats note that roughly 2.4 million American jobs have been transferred overseas in the last decade as global firms outsource more positions to cheaper markets.

Source: Washington Post

See how your Senator voted on the Bring Home Jobs Act:  Senate Roll Call

 

Filed under Government, Insourcing, Jobs, Labor, Made in USA, Manufacturing, Military, NAFTA/CAFTA, Outsourcing, Political, Small Business, U.S. Jobs Project Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pratt & Whitney Caught Illegally Selling Military Technology to China

July 11, 2012 by 1 Comment

Pratt & Whitney, a key military hardware supplier to the U.S., sold China the software and engines needed to make its first-ever modern attack helicopter.

A Chinese Z10 helicopter shows off its 30 mm cannons, anti-tank guided missiles, and air-to-air missiles. (Global Security)

The Canadian arm of the aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney closed a six-year U.S. government probe last week by admitting that it helped China produce its first modern attack helicopter, a serious violation of U.S. export laws that drew a multimillion dollar fine.

At the same time it was helping China, the company was separately earning huge fees from contracts with the Pentagon, including some in which it was building weapons meant to ensure that America can maintain decisive military superiority over China’s rising military might.

The Chinese helicopter that benefited from Pratt’s engines and related computer software, now in production, comes outfitted with 30 mm cannons, anti-tank guided missiles, air-to-air missiles and unguided rockets. “This case is a clear example of how the illegal export of sensitive technology reduces the advantages our military currently possesses,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton said in a statement released on June 28.

The events are once again raising questions about the circumstances under which major defense contractors might be barred from government work. Independent watchdogs have long complained that few such firms have been barred or suspended, even for egregious lawbreaking, such as supplying armaments or related equipment to a hypothetical adversary.

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Tariff on Chinese solar panels raises fear of trade war

June 6, 2012 by Leave a comment

By 

The Obama administration, still smarting from controversial investments in solar power firms like the now bankrupt Solyndra, has sparked fears of a trade war between the U.S. and China, as the Commerce Department signals it will likely slap a 31 percent tariff on all solar panel imports from China.

While some, frustrated by the high U.S. unemployment, want punishment doled out to China, others say protectionism only hurts the consumers who are forced to pay more.

Such a tariff has been pushed by companies that manufacture solar panels in the U.S., including Solar World, which has a plant in Hillsboro, Ore.

“It’ll basically allow us to compete on technology,” Solar World president Gordon Brinser said, “just like everybody else in any other industry.”

Solar World and others have seen their market share plummet as sales of inexpensive Chinese panels have skyrocketed. The Commerce Department found Chinese companies are guilty of dumping panels on average 31 percent below fair market value.

It’s a charge China’s Suntech, the world’s largest solar company, rejects.

“The way the costs have come down so much and become so competitive is we’ve globalized,” Suntech’s chief commercial officer, Andrew Beebe, said. “We manufacture in China, we manufacture in Japan, we manufacture in the United States.”

While still a tiny piece of America’s energy portfolio, the solar industry has seen substantial growth as the price of panels has fallen. The Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s most recent annual report says solar-generating capacity in 2010 quadrupled in the utility sector and went up 60 percent in residential in just one year.

But many U.S. solar companies that don’t make panels fear the tariff will drive prices so high, consumers will stop buying. Jigar Shah, president of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, said manufacturing panels account for a mere 3 percent of the 100,000 U.S. jobs tied to the solar industry.

“The U.S. now is becoming one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, and this just puts a headwind on that,” Shah said.

The Brattle Group did a study for the coalition that predicted a 50 percent tariff would cost the U.S. 14,000 solar industry jobs. Manufacturers would initially see a small increase in employment, but as sales slowed, engineering and installation jobs would suffer.

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Filed under China, Construction, Currency Manipulation, Defense, Energy, Green, Jobs, Made in USA, Supply Chain, Tariff Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

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