The Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing has responded to statements made by China's Ministry of Commerce regarding the anti-dumping petitions filed by SolarWorld Industries America Inc. against China's alleged trade practices.

Last week, Mofcom posted messages on its website that said a global economic recovery could be hampered if the U.S. government sends an inappropriate protectionist signal by proceeding with the World Trade Organization cases.

In a recently-issued statement by the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing, led by SolarWorld Industries America Inc., the group lays out claims that China supports dumping in the industry.

The statement says, "Regarding trade issues, the use of anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws is a WTO-legal and quasi-judicial process. The determinations that will be made by the U.S. government will be based on fact and reviewable under U.S. and WTO law. For China to label the actions of a U.S. industry 'protectionist' when China is seeking to defend itself against egregiously unfair trade practices is baseless. China is a heavy user of the anti-dumping and countervailing trade laws to 'protect' its own industries."

The statement goes further and says, "China's predatory and illegal aggression is crippling the U.S. industry. CASM is holding China accountable for its disregard of the very trade rules it has agreed to follow. Rather than handing over the keys to the industry, CASM has decided to take a stand and defend U.S. innovation, industry, and jobs."

The group concludes, "The U.S. solar industry and workers can compete with any solar producers in the world. They should not, however, be forced to compete against the massive shipments of illegally dumped and subsidized imports supported by the entire Chinese government."