U.S. Solar Manufacturers Request Duties on Chinese Imports

U.S. solar-equipment makers asked the government to slap duties on more than $1 billion of Chinese imports, joining the wind-power industry in seeking compensation for alleged unfair state aid undercutting American competitors.

China uses cash grants, preferential loans, discounts on raw materials, tax incentives and currency manipulation among tactics to boost exports of solar cells, the main device used in solar panels, the U.S. unit of Bonn-based SolarWorld AG said yesterday in the complaint supported by six other U.S. solar companies. Suntech Power Holdings Co., LDK Solar Co. and Trina Solar Ltd., the three-biggest China-based makers of crystalline silicon panels, sell in the U.S., according to Bloomberg data.