The United States on Wednesday imposed duties on large wind towers from China, alleging they are unduly subsidized for export to the US market. The US Department of Commerce said it had reached a preliminary conclusion that Chinese producers and exporters of utility-scale wind towers received subsidies ranging between 13.74 percent and 26.0 percent.
As a result of the finding, "Commerce will instruct US Customs and Border Protection to collect a cash deposit based on these preliminary rates," the department said. The action was the latest trade battle opened up between the world's two largest economies, amid friction over a series of issues including wind turbines, solar cells and rare earth minerals.
In January the Commerce Department opened an inquiry on wind towers made in China and Vietnam following a complaint filed by the Wind Tower Trade Coalition, an association of four US manufacturers. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the new duties affect only utility-scale steel towers, not the engines and rotor blades they support. A utility-scale wind tower can generate electrical power of more than 100 kilowatts. In 2011, imports of utility-scale wind towers from China were valued at roughly $222 million, the department said.
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