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Letter: Level tariffs to free up market

The Columbian
Published: July 30, 2014, 12:00am

The July 26 Wall Street Journal reports that a Chinese solar panel company, Trina Solar Ltd., among others, has been accused by German Solarworld AG, building solar panels in Oregon, of “dumping at unfairly low prices.”

The Obama administration promptly imposed tariffs of 26 to 42 percent. Now protected, Solarworld foresees a “level playing field.” Predictable.

This is transparently picking winners and losers by pandering to American “green manufacturing” that real markets won’t support.

Anytime you hear the phrase “dumping at unfairly low prices,” you’ve got to ask yourself as a consumer, “Do I hate low prices? I must. The Commerce Department is there to protect me.” Use your God-given balderdash detector.

The administration should drop the boring pretense of the “dumping” accusation and go after overseas manufacturing without Department of Environmental Quality/Environmental Protection Agency restrictions unfairly crippling American industry right now while “misting” Oregon and Washington with mercury, sulfur and arsenic traced to extremely dirty coal being used in overseas energy production.

Impose an “environmental tariff,” (my name for it) of 30 to 70 percent on every product imported until the entire overseas industrial process, from the coal-fired energy plant through to the cardboard/Styrofoam packaging, trucking and shipping process is up to our strict environmental standards.

That would truly “level the field” for American industry.

Wayne Mayo

Scappoose, Ore.

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