Chinese windmills hit by duty taxes

The United States on Tuesday set high anti-dumping duty charges on wind turbine towers imported from China.

The US Commerce Department set final anti-dumping duty fees ranging from 44.99 to 70.63 percent on utility-scale towers manufactured in China and additional anti-subsidy duty of 21.86 to 34.81 percent.

The newly announced taxes were higher for two Chinese companies, Chengxi Shipyard Co and Titan Wind Energy (Suzhou), than the preliminary rates they received earlier this year in the range of 20 to 30 percent.

Three other Chinese exporters also faced higher duty rates of around 45 to 50 percent in the final decision, but the top rate of 70.63 percent for “all other” Chinese manufacturers and exporters was down slightly from the preliminary level, Reuters said.

The US imported about $222 million of utility-scale wind towers from China last year, according to the Commerce Department.

US manufacturers filed a complaint in November last year that Chinese imports are sold at less than fair value in the US and asked to levy an anti-dumping duty as high as 176.25 percent on Chinese products.

China Chamber of Commerce had said earlier that if the US set a tariff on Chinese wind turbine towers, it will have an adverse impact on related industry in the US market.

The US has imposed duty taxes on several types of new energy products from China in recent months. China has started anti-dumping investigations into several US products.