China Doth Protest Too Much? Much Ado Over Duty On Solar Panels

U.S. Commerce's plan to slap a 31% tariff upon Chinese solar panel manufacturers to deter them from dumping products upon the U.S. market has thrown the communist nation into a tizzy fit full of protestations and allegations signifying nothing. If China ever learned how to play fair in trade in the first place, it wouldn't need to go through such public relations histrionics.

Tensions between the United States and China appear to hitting new heights on the trade front, thanks in part to the new proposed import tariff on the Chinese solar industry, which appears to be hellbent on driving its U.S.-based competition out of business.

But the world's second largest economy will have you believe that the Commerce Department's action is some kind of election-year political ploy that will have detrimental impacts on everyone involved if eventually finalized. Yeah, whatever.

"U.S. tariffs will hurt both countries because China imports a large amount of raw materials and equipment from the U.S. to produce solar panels, and it exports such goods to the U.S.," said Chinese government spokesman Shen Danyang to Dow Jones.

Needless to say, the state-run media is all on board with its government, throwing out words such as "unreasonable."

The nation's Renewable Energy Industries Association branded the decision as "a hasty act of trade protectionism," Dow Jones reported.

Yada dada dada. The U.S. Commerce Department expects to have a final ruling on the issue at the end of the year. In the meantime, we've got a tiny violin to play in honor of Chinese solar-panel makers.

Read all about it: http://on.wsj.com/JTwlkl.