Tubes for Solar Panels Not Covered by AD/CVD on Steel Pipe From China, Scope Ruling Says
Fifteen models of torque tubes imported by NEXTracker aren't covered by antidumping and countervailing duty orders on circular welded carbon quality steel pipe from China, the Commerce Department said in a Jan. 8 scope ruling.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
The scope ruling covers 15 China-produced torque tubes used in solar panel tracking systems; the tubes allow the panels to track the sun’s movement throughout the day.
Based on the products’ physical characteristics alone, they would be covered by AD/CVD orders on Chinese carbon quality steel pipe, Commerce said.
However, pipes used for mechanical purposes fell into an exception carved out by the orders, it said. Evidence showed that the exception applied to NEXTracker’s goods, the department said. For example, the pipes were made-to-order for use in NEXTracker’s solar panels and not advertised for sale anywhere else.
In 2019, Commerce also had found similar products intended for the same purpose as NEXTracker’s pipes weren't covered by the AD/CVD orders, strengthening NEXTracker’s case, the department said.