US ruling ignites fresh row with China over solar panels

WASHINGTON - The US Commerce Department has announced that it is imposing new tariffs ranging from 19% to 35% on Chinese solar panel products even if the panels contained solar cells made outside China. The move is meant to close a loophole used by Chinese manufacturers since 2012, when Washington imposed tariffs on solar cells made in the Chinese mainland - Chinese companies have been able to avoid paying duties by assembling panels with cells made in offshore locations, like Taiwan.

Chinese Government officials said they were extremely unhappy with the US decision to apply the duties. The move follows a new round of anti-subsidy and anti-dumping investigation into Chinese solar products that began earlier this year.

The US, China and the EU have been battling over the solar industry for several years. The US initially imposed tariffs on Chinese products containing Chinese solar cells in 2012, and China retaliated a year later by announcing its own tariffs on raw materials from the US and South Korea that are used to make solar panels.

Last year, China and the EU reached a deal under which Chinese manufacturers committed to setting a minimum price for their products in the region, thus avoiding tariffs.