Chinese Firm Announces U.S. Solar Plant, a Week After Trump Tariffs
January 29 2018 - 6:06PM
Dow Jones News
By Erin Ailworth
A Chinese solar manufacturer said Monday that it plans to open a
plant in the U.S., a week after President Donald Trump imposed
tariffs on imported solar panels.
JinkoSolar Holding Co. said Monday that its board has authorized
the company "to finalize planning for the construction of an
advanced solar manufacturing facility in the U.S."
The company tucked news of its U.S. manufacturing plans into an
announcement about an agreement to supply an unnamed U.S. customer
with 1.75 gigawatts of solar panels over about three years.
It appeared to tie the proposed facility to Mr. Trump's recent
tariff decision, which would tax imported solar panels and cells at
30% in the first year. The tariff would decline to 15% in the
fourth and final year.
"JinkoSolar continues to closely monitor treatment of imports of
solar cells and modules under the U.S. trade laws," the company
said.
Mr. Trump had hoped his new tariffs, which also include similar
import restrictions on washing machines, would lead foreign
companies to shift production to the U.S. His trade representative,
Robert Lighthizer, has said the imposition and threats of trade
barriers against Tokyo in the 1980s helped spur Japanese auto
makers to build factories in the U.S.
"It will provide a strong incentive for LG and Samsung to follow
through on their recent promises to build major manufacturing
plants for washing machines" in the U.S., Mr. Trump said last
week.
A spokeswoman for JinkoSolar declined to give more detail about
the company's plans.
Records filed with Jacksonville, Fla., show that a company
code-named Project Volt, billed as a "leading international
manufacturer of solar panels and modules," wants to open what would
be "the company's first manufacturing and assembly operation in the
U.S." The company has committed to investing $410 million, and
creating as many as 800 jobs, by the end of 2019, according to city
documents.
Jacksonville officials have approved more than $24 million in
incentives for the project, a city spokeswoman said. She declined
to comment on any ties between Project Volt and JinkoSolar.
Mr. Trump's decision to impose tariffs was the result of a
petition by two embattled solar manufacturers with operations in
the U.S., who said their business had been undercut by a flood of
cheap solar imports. In lobbying for the trade protections, they
argued that a tariff would force foreign competitors to open
manufacturing facilities -- and bring thousands of jobs -- to the
U.S.
Domestic solar installers, which employ many more people than
the relatively small U.S. solar manufacturing sector, largely
opposed the tariffs. They said they stand to lose some 23,000 jobs
in 2018 as the tariff raises solar prices, which they anticipate
would reduce sales.
--Jacob M. Schlesinger contributed to this article.
Write to Erin Ailworth at Erin.Ailworth@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 29, 2018 17:51 ET (22:51 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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