WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Members of the U.S. International Trade Commission on Tuesday made three different recommendations for restricting solar panel imports on Tuesday, giving U.S. President Donald Trump a range of choices to address injury to domestic producers.
The recommendations range from an immediate 35 percent tariff on all imported assembled solar modules to a four-year quota system that allows the import of up to 8.9 gigawatts of solar cells and modules in the first year.
Trump is expected to decide among the recommendations by early next year in the "global safeguard" case that could significantly restrict imports and affect the price of U.S. solar power. Since only two members agreed on the same restrictions, there was no majority recommendation from the four-member commission.
Commissioners David Johanson and Irving Williamson recommended four years of protection for domestic producers Solar World AG SWVKk.DE and Suniva Inc.
The two commissioners urged the president to impose an immediate 30 percent tariff on completed solar modules, to be lowered in subsequent years, and a tariff-rate quota on solar cells. Imports of cells in excess of one gigawatt would be subject to a 30 percent tariff that would decline after the first year.
ITC Chair Rhonda Schmidtlein recommended an immediate 35 percent four-year tariff on imported solar modules, with a four-year tariff rate quota on solar cells. This would impose a 30 percent tariff on imports exceeding 0.5 gigawatts and 10 percent on imports below that level. These tariffs would decline over a four-year period.
In the most lenient recommendation, Commissioner Meredith Broadbent said the president should impose a four-year quota system that allows for imports of up to 8.9 gigawatts of solar cells and modules in the first year.