The US Commerce Department is set to announce its final ruling on the level of duties it's imposing on Chinese solar panels on Wednesday. In a previous preliminary decision, the department concluded that the Chinese government has supported its industry with subsidies which violate WTO rules.

But many in the US solar industry say such punitive measures will be counter-productive at a time when the two nations need to work together to develop alternative energy sources. From Washington Daniel Ryntjes reports.

Earlier this year the Commerce Department imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties of just over 31 percent on the majority of current Chinese exporters including Suntech Power Holdings and Trina Solar.

The complaint was made by the US arm of a German company Solar World and several others who say Chinese subsidies have caused a collapse in prices worldwide.

But a clear majority of the US solar and environmental industry as a whole remains opposed to these tariffs and hopes the final ruling will be moderate.

Scott Sklar, president of the Stella group, said, "And I think there is a middle ground that will protect and send certain market signals on how much you can subsidize your industries. And we all do, by the way, the Chinese are right about this, we all do. So how do we do that in a way that makes sure we still have respect for each other and build a market with each other?"

China is currently investigating US imports of poly silicon, the raw material used to make the panels. Many green industry experts fear that along with the solar panel supply chain, co-operation on a number of major environment initiatives is being threatened.

Scott Sklar also said, "We are moving into their markets in all kinds of renewable energy, not just solar, but in advanced batteries, in wind turbines, in bio-mass, in geo-thermal. So we have some market consequences. I also believe that there's strategic partnerships between industry sectors."

But whatever the outcome, tensions over environmental industries will remain, as the US has also imposed preliminary tariffs on Chinese wind towers.

The US Commerce Department could also decide take action against Chinese firms with overseas solar operations, a move they have avoided in preliminary rulings.

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