China: Preliminary Determination of Foreign Trade Barrier Investigation on the U.S. Renewable Energy Support Policies and Subsidies
Description
On May 24, 2012, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China released the Notice No. 26 (2012), announcing the preliminary determination on US renewable energy support policies and subsidies, including Renewable Energy Cost Recovery Incentive Program (Washington),Commonwealth Solar II (Massachusetts), Ohio Wind Production and Manufacturing Inventive Program (Ohio), Renewable Energy Incentive Program (New Jersey), Renewable Energy Manufacture’s Incentive Program (New Jersey), Self-Generation Incentive Program (California) .
On October 24, 2011, the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME) and the China New Energy Chamber of Commerce (CNECC) jointly submitted an application to the MOFCOM for initiating the foreign trade barrier investigation on the US renewable energy support policies and subsidies, holding that US government support policies and subsidy measures for its domestic industry are against the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and restrict development of China’s renewable energy industry which constitute a trade barrier for Chinese renewable energy industry. On November 25, 2011, the MOFCOM announced the Notice NO.69 (2011), announcing the initiation of the foreign trade barrier investigation on US renewable energy support policies and subsidies.
In accordance with the Notice No. 26 (2012), the MOFCOM held that the US renewable energy support policies and subsidies violate the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement) and do harm to international trade. And in accordance with the Investigation Rules of Foreign Trade Barrier of the People’s Republic of China, all these measures or activities made or supported by the US government are confirmed to constitute trade barrier. The Notice No. 26 (2012) does not specify what the MOFCOM may put forward with this case; the MOFCOM may initiate the bilateral consultations or the WTO mechanism for multilateral dispute settlement.
On the same day, the MOFCOM released the Notice NO.24 (2012), announcing that the barrier investigation will be prolonged 3 months, and final determination will be announced before August 25, 2012.
Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:
| Question | Result |
|---|---|
| Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations? | |
| Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered? | |
| Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government? | |
| Was such evidence identified? | |
| Is such evidence publicly available? | |
| Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives? | |
| Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken? | |
| Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory? | |
| Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation? |
Date Discovered:
Implemented: Yes
Date of inception: 24 May 2012
GTA Evaluation: Amber
Source:
Source from China Ministry of Commerce, Chinese Version Available:
http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/b/c/201205/20120508143821.html
Government Response:
- 314 reads
