US: SolarWorld cheered by Obama comments on China

06/11/2011 12:00 - 377 Views

WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Solar manufacturer SolarWorld (SWVG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which has asked for U.S. government duties on solar cell and modules from China, said on Wednesday it was encouraged by comments President Barack Obama had made.

"The president acknowledged there are a considerable number of questionable trade practices, including dumping, coming out of China," Gordon Brinser, president of the U.S. arm of German company SolarWorld, said in a statement.

"We are heartened to hear that the administration is looking closely at our case and the president has restated his commitment to enforcing U.S. trade laws," Brinser said.

The company highlighted an interview that Obama did on Tuesday with KGW NewsChannel 8 in Portland, Oregon.

Obama was asked about the petition SolarWorld has filed with the Commerce Department asking for steep antidumping and countervailing duties on the Chinese imports.

"We have seen a lot of questionable competitive practices coming out of China when it comes to the clean energy space, and I have been more aggressive than previous administrations in enforcing our trade laws," Obama said in the interview.

"We have filed actions against them when we see these kinds of dumping activities, and we're going to look very carefully at this stuff and potentially bring actions if we find that the basic rules of the road have been violated," Obama said.

The Commerce Department is due to formally announce on Nov 9 whether it will begin an investigation into SolarWorld's claims of unfair trading practices.

The department almost always launches a probe, unless the petitioners fail to meet certain legal criteria.

Separately, the U.S. International Trade Commission will hold a conference on Tuesday to hear both sides of the case.

The ITC must give its approval for an investigation to proceed. That vote is expected in early December.

Wed, Nov 2 2011

By Doug Palmer;

Editing by Cynthia Osterman

Source: reuters.com