中美欧太阳能贸易战，台湾成为赢家

Solar Trade Dispute Leaves Taiwan the Clear Winner
By DIANE CARDWELL July 31, 2013

中美欧太阳能贸易战，台湾成为赢家
DIANE CARDWELL 2013年07月31日
The long-running trade conflicts over solar panels between China and the United States and Europe have sown dissatisfaction all around, leaving many manufacturers of solar materials complaining that the market is still unfair.
中美欧关于太阳能组件的长期贸易冲突在四面八方引起了不满，很多太阳能原材料制造商纷纷抱怨，这个市场仍然缺乏公平。
But one country not involved in the disputes has already benefited from them and, with [要查看本链接请先注册并登录], stands to benefit again: Taiwan.
但是，一个没有卷入这些争端的地区却已经从中获益良多。此外，在中国与欧盟(European Union)于周六达成协议之后，该地区有望再次获益。这个地区就是台湾。
Last October, after finding that Chinese companies were receiving unfair government subsidies and selling their merchandise below the cost of production, [要查看本链接请先注册并登录] of roughly 24 to 36 percent on imported Chinese panels. But the ruling included a major loophole; it applied only to panels made from Chinese solar cells, the final major components that are assembled into finished modules. Many manufacturers were able to skirt the taxes by buying their cells elsewhere, mainly from Taiwan.
去年10月，美国开始对从中国进口的太阳能组件征收大约24%到36%的关税，因为美国发现中国公司接受了不公正的政府补贴，并以低于成本的价格销售商品。但是，这项判决有一个很大的漏洞；它只适用于用中国大陆的太阳能电池做成的太阳能板。太阳能电池是用来组装完成电池板的决定性重要组件。于是，很多制造商就从以台湾为主的其他地方购买太阳能电池，成功地避开了这些关税。
[要查看本图请先注册并登录]
China Daily/Reuters
贸易漏洞以及中国各地对太阳能组件的强烈需求，给台湾企业带来了好处。图为中国义乌某建筑屋顶上的太阳能电池板。
This month, for instance, the Neo Solar Power Corporation, a leading cell manufacturer based in Taiwan, announced its sixth consecutive month of growth, with a 74 percent increase in revenue in June over the month before, in part because of increased production capacity since its merger with another manufacturer, DelSolar.
例如，台湾的主要电池制造商新日光能源科技公司(Neo Solar Power Corporation)本月宣布，公司已经连续六个月实现增长，6月的收入环比增长了74%，部分是因为它与同为制造商的DelSolar进行了合并，产能得到了提高。
Taiwanese producers, which have been able to command a 4- to 5-cent per watt premium over Chinese-made cells, have been operating at fuller capacity and have sold out inventory faster than the Chinese, said Shayle Kann, vice president of research at GTM Research, which tracks clean-tech industries. And Hareon, a solar cell and module manufacturer in China, recently announced plans to build a large cell production plant in Taiwan with Mascotte Holdings, which makes solar-grade silicon in Taiwan.
台湾生产的电池可以比中国大陆制造的电池每瓦多卖4到5美分。跟踪清洁技术行业的市场研究机构GTM Research的研究副总裁舍勒·卡恩(Shayle Kann)说，台湾公司一直在满负荷生产，清空存货的速度也比中国大陆更快。中国太阳能电池和电池板制造商海润光伏近期宣布，公司计划与在台湾生产太阳能级硅材料的马斯葛集团有限公司(Mascotte Holdings)进行合作，在台湾修建一个大型电池厂。
“Taiwan has benefited from the fact that the U.S. has left the Taiwanese loophole available for Chinese companies to essentially sneak into the U.S. market without paying the tariff,” said Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James. “Those extra few pennies that it costs the Chinese module companies, that’s cheaper than paying the tariff,” which would roughly cost an extra 20 cents per watt, he added.
“美国在台湾留下了一个漏洞，中国公司可以利用这个漏洞，在不缴纳关税的情况下潜入美国市场，台湾也从中获益不少，”咨询公司雷蒙德·詹姆斯(Raymond James)的分析师帕维尔·莫尔恰诺夫(Pavel Molchanov)说。“他们向中国太阳能电池板公司额外收取的区区几美分，比缴纳关税便宜多了。”他还说，倘若缴纳关税，每瓦的成本会增加大约20美分（约合1.23元人民币）。
It is not just the trade loophole that has helped Taiwanese businesses, analysts said, but also strong demand for solar over all from China, the United States and Japan, despite the dire predictions that the trade conflict would lead to a rise in prices and stymie growth. “We’re not seeing a lot of evidence of the market slowing down,” said Adam Krop, vice president of equity research at Ardour Capital, an investment bank focused on energy technologies.
分析人士表示，有助于台湾企业的不仅是这个贸易漏洞，中国、美国和日本对太阳能组件的旺盛需求也起了一定作用，尽管有人曾悲观地预测，这场贸易冲突会促使价格上涨、阻碍行业发展。专注于能源技术的投资银行Ardour Capital的股权研究副总裁亚当·克罗普(Adam Krop)说，“我们并没有看到很多表明市场正在放缓的证据。”
The European trade settlement could help increase production as well. In that case, under the threat of 47.6 percent tariffs, China agreed that manufacturers would not sell panels below 56 euro cents per watt. But that price is even lower than panels were selling for when European manufacturers complained of dumping to the European Commission, and a group of them said over the weekend that they were preparing to file a lawsuit to overturn it. In China, 50 of 140 manufacturers rejected the settlement, which means that their merchandise will face the 47.6 percent tariff.
欧洲的贸易协议也有助于促进生产量的提高。欧洲曾威胁要对进口自中国的太阳能电池板征收47.6%的关税，迫于威胁，中国同意其制造商不会以低于每瓦0.56欧元（约合4.55元人民币）的价格出售太阳能电池板。但是，这个价格甚至低于欧洲制造商向欧盟委员会(European Commission)投诉中国倾销太阳能电池板时的售价。一些欧洲制造商周末表示，为了推翻上述协议，他们准备提起诉讼。在中国，140家制造商中有50家不同意这项协议，这就意味着他们的商品需要缴纳47.6%的关税。
Among that group — smaller businesses that account for as little as 10 percent of Chinese exports to Europe, according to some estimates — it would be economical to try to sell to Europe only for bankrupt or nearly bankrupt companies that were trying to get rid of inventories without warranty for as little as 30 euro cents a watt. For them, it would still be cheaper to ship to the United States, with tariffs as high as about 36 percent.
反对协议的公司规模都比较小，有人估计，它们在中国对欧洲的出口中只占10%。在它们当中，只有已经破产或濒临破产的公司出于处理无担保存货的目的，以低至0.3欧元每瓦的价格向欧洲出售商品才合算。对它们而言，把商品卖到美国会更划算，尽管美国征收的关税也高达36%左右。
The settlement could help the Chinese government reach its goal of consolidating the industry, which relied on heavy government subsidies and loans from state-owned banks to rapidly scale up production. The resultant global glut of low-price panels drove many European and American companies out of business.
该协议将帮助中国政府达到整合太阳能行业的目的。正是依赖于政府的大规模补贴和国有银行的贷款，中国太阳能行业的生产规模才得到了迅速扩张。国际市场上由此出现了大量的低价太阳能电池板，致使许多欧美公司被淘汰出局。
For Taiwan, the agreement opens the door for producers to make panels there and sell into the European market at an even lower price, analysts said.
对于台湾来说，该协议为生产商带来了机会，他们可以在台湾生产太阳能电池板，并以更低的价格出口至欧洲市场。
“You might still want to source outside China so that you can undercut the Chinese manufacturers in the European market,” Mr. Kann said, adding that some Chinese manufacturers had been looking at establishing low-cost production in India and Eastern Europe in addition to Taiwan in anticipation of the European settlement.
卡恩说，“你可能仍然想要寻找除中国之外的供货来源，以便削弱中国制造商在欧洲市场的地位。”他补充表示，在等待欧洲出台解决方案期间，一些中国制造商一直在考虑去印度及东欧进行低成本生产，不局限于台湾。
That could happen, though not in the short term, said Arturo Herrero, chief marketing officer of JinkoSolar, a Chinese panel manufacturer that has been buying its cells there to make modules for the United States market since the tariffs went into effect. Most of Taiwan’s production capacity is already taken up meeting demand from companies trying to avoid the United States tariffs, *** it more expensive to produce there than in China.
晶科能源有限公司首席营销官阿图罗·埃雷罗(Arturo Herrero)表示，这种情况有可能变成现实，但不会在短期内。自美国开始征收关税以来，这家中国太阳能组件制造商一直在台湾购买电池，为美国市场生产太阳能组件。台湾的大部分产能都已经用于满足那些试图躲避美国关税壁垒的公司的需求，在台湾的生产成本由此高于在中国的生产成本。
The immediate chief beneficiaries would be the “top players in this industry coming from China,” he said. “Price will not be a differentiation — customers will choose at this minimum price the best brands in the industry.”
主要的直接受益者将会是“中国太阳能产业的顶级公司”，他说。“价格不会造成差别——消费者将会以这个最低价格购买行业之中的最佳品牌。”
But it leaves the United States, which wanted European leaders to work with them on a multilateral agreement, on its own in an escalating conflict that has not helped the American industries as much as intended.
然而，协议使得美国不得不孤身面对不断升级的冲突，而冲突给美国太阳能产业带来的帮助也没有达到预期。美国曾希望欧洲领导人与美国合作达成多边协议。
“It’s hard to see how this decision helps anyone except companies in China and Taiwan,” said Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon and chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. “In the end, the E.U. will not have just sold out its workers and companies that produce solar panels, but U.S. workers and employers as well.”
“除了中国大陆和台湾的企业外，很难看出这个决定如何给其他方面带来帮助，”俄勒冈州民主党参议员、自然资源委员会(Committee on Energy and Natural Resources)主席罗恩·怀登(Ron Wyden)说。“最终，遭受欧盟出卖的将不只是欧洲地区生产太阳能组件的工人和企业，还包括美国的工人和雇主。”
Beijing recently announced tariffs of up to 57 percent on American-made polysilicon, the main material in solar panels, a big blow to the industry.
北京方面最近宣布对美国制造的多晶硅征收最高57%的关税，对太阳能产业造成了重大打击。多晶硅是制造太阳能组件的主要原料。
Now, the United States Commerce Department is taking a closer look at whether Chinese manufacturers are truthfully reporting the sources of cells they say are from outside of China. Trade officials have written letters to some of the largest manufacturers, including Trina, Suntech, LDK and Yingli Green Energy, asking for invoices and tracking records that show that the cells in their panels came from outside China.
如今，美国商务部(United States Commerce Department)正在更加仔细地调查中国制造商的报告是否属实，它们称电池来自中国之外的国家。贸易官员已经给包括天合光能有限公司、尚德太阳能电力有限公司、江西赛维LDK太阳能高科技有限公司及英利绿色能源控股有限公司在内的一些大型制造商写信，要求它们提供发票及货物跟踪记录，以便证明它们生产的太阳能电池板所用的电池并非来自中国。
“We think the more they look, the more they will find large-scale evasion and circumvention by Chinese solar producers,” said Timothy C. Brightbill, a partner at the law firm Wiley Rein, who is representing the solar panel manufacturers that filed the trade case. “We’re asking for the strongest enforcement efforts possible so that U.S. companies and workers can see real benefit from these trade cases.”
“我们认为，他们越是调查，就会越多地发现中国太阳能组件生产商的大规模逃避及规避行为，”卫理律师事务所(Wiley Rein)的合伙人蒂莫西·C·布莱特比尔(Timothy C. Brightbill)说。“我们要求尽量加大执法行动的力度，以便让美国的企业及工人真正看到这些贸易案件带来的益处。”布莱特比尔是提起贸易诉讼的太阳能组件生产商的法律代表。
He added, “There’s been some benefit, but they’re still being harmed by pricing that is not sustainable.”
他补充说，“目前已经有了一些益处，但是，不利于可持续发展的定价行为仍在给他们造成损害。”