Motech upbeat on solar industry despite US anti-dumping tariffs

Motech Industries, one of Taiwan's leading solar cell suppliers, remains optimistic about the long-term growth of Taiwan's solar industry despite the effects of anti-dumping tariffs imposed by the United States.

Motech CFO Jack Hsieh said Tuesday that Taiwanese solar cell suppliers could team up with Chinese solar module makers to jointly explore new markets in a bid to take on challenges resulting from US tariffs.

Taiwanese solar makers who have established production bases in the fast-growing China market will be well-positioned to win more orders because of their favorable geographical location.

In Europe, however, Taiwanese solar suppliers may find it difficult to expand their businesses due to cutbacks in solar subsidies intended to rein in energy costs and cut debt, he said.

"The industry is facing a great fluctuation in overall revenues, transactions and profits, but the fluctuation is believed to be short-lived," Hsieh said at a press conference ahead of the Taiwan International Photovoltaic Forum and Exhibition on Oct. 22-24.

"Long-term growth is expected for the industry, and we should pay close attention to improving our companies financially," the CFO said, stating that strategic alliances and acquisitions are feasible measures to achieve the target.

In a preliminary ruling in July, the US commerce department imposed three different preliminary anti-dumping rates on Taiwanese solar product companies–44.18% on Motech, 27.59% on Gintech Energy Corporation, and 35.89% on all others.

The US government agency agreed in August to lower an anti-dumping tariff imposed on Motech to 20.86% after the Taiwanese firm filed a petition with the commerce department, arguing that the US used erroneous data to calculate the tariff and asking for a reassessment of the financial penalty.

Gintech Energy has also filed an appeal seeking a similar revision of its penalty. The department is scheduled to issue a final ruling on the anti-dumping tariffs on Taiwan's solar cell exporters in mid-December.

Source: wantchinatimes