Canada takes U.S. solar tariffs to NAFTA tribunal

Foreign affairs minister says businesses and workers on both sides of border impacted.

   The Canadian government has asked the NAFTA Secretariat to set up a panel to review the United States’ tariffs on solar panel imports.
   Pursuant to a global import safeguard investigation under Section 201 of the 1974 Trade Act, President Donald Trump at the start of this year ordered a duty of 30 percent on solar modules and cells in the first year of the tariff, to decrease by 5 percent each subsequent year, with duties to end in 2022.
   However, the Canadian government noted that the tariffs were applied to its solar panel producers, despite the fact that the U.S. International Trade Commission recommended excluding Canada from the safeguard measures after finding these imports from Canada did not harm U.S. industry.
   “The U.S. tariffs on Canadian solar panels have affected businesses and workers on both sides of the border,” said Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland in a statement.
   The dispute settlement provisions of Chapter 20 cover disputes regarding the interpretation or application of the NAFTA.The process is intended to resolve these disputes by agreement. If the dispute is not resolved, a country may request a meeting of the NAFTA Free-Trade Commission. If the commission is unable to resolve the dispute, then a consulting party may call for the creation of a five-member arbitral panel.