(Yicai Global) Sept. 25 -- The free flow of photovoltaic products is conducive to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ameliorating the global climate, so to maintain free trade in this area is the common responsibility of all countries and it is also in line with the interests of all parties, and China thus hopes that the US investigative authorities strictly abide by World Trade Organization rules, and cautiously resort to restrictive trade measures, said Wang Hejun, head of China's Ministry of Commerce's trade remedy and investigation bureau, on Sept. 23 in response to US global measures and its investigative ruling on photovoltaic products.

US authorities insist imported photovoltaic products inflict serious injury on the domestic industry despite strong opposition from other countries, US state governments and many photovoltaic downstream enterprises and their representations that the several trade measures already resorted to provide adequate protection for the domestic solar industry, Wang noted. Thus, the action will not only add uncertainty to the normal global trade in photovoltaic products, but will also be deleterious to the overall health and balanced development of the photovoltaic industry in the US.

The US International Trade Commission has returned an injury ruling in its global safeguard investigation of photovoltaic cells and components (the '201 Investigation') on Sept. 22, which deemed that imported products inflict serious injury on the US domestic industry, and will in the next step study restrictive measures for relevant imported products.