FSLR thinks Indian Regulatory system to be “relatively sophisticated”

India has been a big market for the US based First Solar (FSLR), with the company already supplying equipments for more than 350 MW of solar power installed in the country. Though First Solar is co-operating with the Indian investigations against dumping of solar cells and modules from US, Malaysia, Taiwan and China, the company is least afraid of any consequences. FSLR thinks that India should form a demand driven transparent market to protect its local industry. First India was made a sucker by US, as America filed the WTO Protectionist Case against India and next India too hits back at America’s WTO case on Solar Panel usage. 

Sequence of Events leading to a tiff between India and First Solar

I. US filed a case against India for domestic content rules in its solar federal policy, despite the American company First Solar having captured a majority of the Indian market. It is ironical that USA has filed a WTO case against India and not against France, Italy, Greece and Canada, which have domestic content rules to promote solar manufacturing by their domestic manufacturers. India’s government has never had much strategic sense unlike other countries. It shows how the US government is making a sucker out of the Indian state by preventing the country from imposing any possible future duties on import of solar panels. Read the complete story here.

II. The Indian government has finally woken up and taken the fight to the US in the domestic content case for solar panel usage. First Solar (FSLR) won most of the Indian subsidized contracts for solar power plants. India has filed for information from the US government on numerous cases, where it has mandated usage of domestic content in water and renewable energy industries. The Indian side has cited numerous state and federal laws and tenders which favor local industries over foreign ones. Read more here.

Now according to a recent news First Solar thinks the local content rules in India to be “ineffective”. This shows First Solar is not concerned about India’s anti dumping case, as it is aware of the slow & lethargic Indian Government; though India is a major market for First Solar. We should now sit back and see India’s reaction to that statement. What do you think will India be oppressed once again by the Western powers?

Also Read on GWI India joins the Global Solar War – Anti Dumping investigation against China, USA , Malaysia and Taiwan.

Business Line

“The best way to promote local industry is to create a transparent and visible market place with significant demand,” First Solar Chief Executive Officer James A Hughes told PTI in an interview here. 

“The Indian regulatory system or the regulatory mechanisms are relatively, they have been in place for a very long time, sophisticated,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hughes said he was not particularly worried about the notice served by government which is investigating alleged dumping of solar cells and modules in India.

“I am not particularly worried about that. We have competed on a fair basis. I believe we have provided the required information and there is no evidence that we engaged in any competitive dumping,” he added.