Chinese wind towers hit with U.S. tariffs
Doug Palmer
Reuters
3:48 a.m. CDT, May 31, 2012
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed preliminary duties as high as 26 percent on a second clean-energy product from China on Wednesday, this time hitting the tall steel towers used to harvest power from the wind.
The decision by the U.S. Commerce Department is a victory for the Wind Tower Trade Coalition, a group of U.S. producers who say they are being driven out of business by low-priced imports from China and Vietnam.
The Commerce Department, in a move likely to further strain trade ties, said Chinese manufacturers received "countervailable" government subsidies ranging from 13.74 percent to 26 percent of the cost of the towers.
China criticized the move, urging Washington to adopt a more consultative approach to resolving trade rows.
"Readily resorting to protectionist measures is not conducive to China and the U.S. continuing to cooperate in the trade and economic fields," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters in Beijing.
Chinese wind towers hit with U.S. tariffs - chicagotribune.com