Tim Brightbill Comments After Commerce Department Imposes Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels

Tim Brightbill, a partner in the International Trade Practice, was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal after U.S. trade officials imposed tariffs on imports of Chinese solar panels. Mr. Brightbill -- who is counsel for the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing -- filed the first antidumping and countervailing duty litigation in the renewable energy sector.

The Journal reported that the decision to place preliminary duties of between 2.9% and 4.73% provided a victory to U.S. solar equipment manufacturers. The ruling found that Chinese solar manufacturers benefited from at least 10 different types of governmental subsidies that helped the Chinese industry in its efforts to dominate the global market.

Mr. Brightbill said that the U.S. companies are hopeful the Commerce Department will levy much larger antidumping tariffs in the next phase of its investigation. The Commerce Department is expected to rule in mid-May on the dumping complaint, which alleged that Chinese manufacturers are selling cells and panels at prices below fair value. Mr. Brightbill told The Journal that antidumping tariffs are often "significantly higher" than duties imposed to counteract government subsidies.