|
The 30 percent tariff on solar panels was among the first
unilateral trade restrictions imposed by the Trump
administration as part of a broader protectionist agenda aimed
at helping U.S. manufacturers.
Safeguard tariffs are a form of emergency trade protection,
permitted under WTO rules if a country is facing a sudden,
damaging surge in imports of a particular product.
But they come with strings attached: the United States is
supposed to compensate major solar power-exporting countries by
offering them improved trade in other areas, or accept them
putting up barriers to U.S. exports to balance things out.
The EU, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia all demanded
compensation after U.S. President Donald Trump signed the
tariffs into law in January.
At an EU-U.S. meeting on Feb. 15, the EU said its exports were
not causing serious damage to U.S. competitors, due to the
volume of trade and higher prices, the WTO filing said.
"Thus, it suggested a form of measure that would be less
penalizing for European Union imports such as a quota allocated
by country or a minimum import price. The United States did not
agree with this," the WTO filing said.
"In addition, there was no agreement on the form of
compensation," though both sides agreed to monitor developments
and continue discussions.
In a separate document, the United States and Taiwan said that
if there was no agreement between them, Taiwan could introduce
compensatory measures in February 2022.
(Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Gareth Jones and John
Stonestreet)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
