United States is Accusing China of Illegally Subsidizing the Production of Wind Products

It now seems that the United States has accused China of illegally subsidizing the production of wind power equipment. The United States has asked to hold talks about this matter at the World Trade Organization.

United States trade representative, Ron Kirk, said that these subsidies effectively operate as a barrier to United States exports to China. Apparently this announcement was made in response to a petition filed in September by the United Steelworkers. The United Steelworkers are accusing Beijing of a long list of trade distorting polices. This news comes just about a month before a visit by China’s president, Hu Jintao. He will be visiting Washington for talks with Barack Obama.

However, some people still do not understand what the big deal is. Industry experts say that the industrial union is accusing Beijing of distorting policies to favor the manufacturing of clean energy technologies in China. However, this is coming at the expense of the United States and other producers.

Section 301, which is the Steelworkers petition, included a complaint about China’s restrictions on rare earth minerals used in the production of wind turbines. The use of these rare earth minerals are also used in the production of electricals, solar cells, and energy-efficient lighting. Taking all of this into account, it is pretty easy to understand why people want to know what’s actually going on in China.

Kirk went on to say that they will continue to work closely with the USW and other stakeholders in the months ahead of the remaining allegations. If they are able to develop sufficient evidence to support these allegations, then they will be formally addressed.