Tariffs On Solar Panel Imports Announced

[MEXICOWANDERER]

But implementation date not firm...but it will be soon.

Please. No political comments which do not do a damned bit of good.

25% price increase on a thousand dollars of panels is not chickenfeed.

Other electronics are also affected.

Time to do your Christmas Stocking Stuffer shopping early.

Amplifications not solicited or desired...

Good buys and bargains are solicited....

Any snide remarks please kill the thread...

[wanderingaimles]

A couple of questions to those invested in this business,,,
What companies are producing panels domestically, and under what name?
Are those panels superior to the Chinese panels?
Will a 25% tariff bring the pricing of the Chinese panels in line with the domestic product?

[timmac]

ppine wrote:
This is an example of the worst kind of government intervention. Making desirable products that produce clean energy more expensive. Beyond stupid.

No the whole idea is to make it in America and keep it American made..


:B

[MEXICOWANDERER]

See the post above 2oldman. The most radical on both sides of the aisle are playing ignorant (it suits them).

So until the impossible happens, better move if you want to save money. Remember a 250 dollar price increase will treat your state government to an unhealthy extra bite of sales tax.

[2oldman]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
If government was so @#$%^&! serious about climate change they would do a "Let's Make A Deal" with solar cell companies and exchange tax credits for lower retail prices..

Not as long as this president has any say about it.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

It has been said that USA companies provide solar power for satellites and military ground systems that are almost 200% as efficient per square area as the best overseas panels.

Someone needs to do a stripdown examination of our domestic companies and find out if they are playing the protection racket with their products. Like USA drug companies and exclusive drugs that have been on the market for years. 200% to 8000% price increase because they can get away with it.

If government was so @#$%^&! serious about climate change they would do a "Let's Make A Deal" with solar cell companies and exchange tax credits for lower retail prices.

Something is rotten in Denmark. Same for Tesla battery packs.

Green Technology should not be manufacturing nor consumer taxed at any level.

Hypocritical? You must be joking...it is sad...this is a bipartisan problem so it isn't about politics it's about mismanagement

[time2roll]

I agree zero tariffs would be best if the playing field was level. However considering the tilted stage of the world... EVERYTHING from EVERYWHERE could be levied 5% and I would be OK. Any country that levies above 5%, requires handover of technology, or severely restricts our companies expanding abroad can be taxed at 10%+ on everything. No need to delay for another decade of negotiations. Act first, compromise later.

The 25% on solar from China should apply to everything until we can hand back the short stick we have been carrying for decades. Reduce when the business playing field has been equalized.


This is just wrong:
The Japanese carmaker’s decision to share its Prius technology with Beijing could force rivals to do...

So much has already been stolen and now China is just outright requiring the handover of technology.

[azrving]

I just looked at solar Blvd site. It was letting me start the checkout process for six 120 watt cynergy panels but I stopped at that point and called but it kept saying mailbox full

[2oldman]

2edgesword wrote:
The easier argument is the tariff went into affect and my price for solar panels went up, tariffs are not good.

Very astute.

We've already had to subsidize farmers for tariff impact. Not good.

[2edgesword]

This question is asked by someone that knows nothing about solar panels. Does the 25% tariff bring the price of Chinese made solar panels anywhere near the pricing of solar panels made in the US?

My understanding is that the purpose of tariffs is to make domestic solar panels more price competitive which in theory is suppose to decrease the demand for solar panels made in China and in effect punishes the Chinese for unfair trade practices. A secondary affect is increasing cost of solar panels to U.S. consumers but that cost gets offset in the general economy via keeping dollars (labor) previously going to China in the U.S.

How anyone can actually calculate the net impact of tariffs to demonstrate that they are a net benefit to the country is way above my paygrade. The easier argument is the tariff went into affect and my price for solar panels went up, tariffs are not good.

[2oldman]

Dave5143 wrote:
I was wondering the same thing, thanks for taking the time to explain the second order effects of the tariffs. I did not know that.

It's a very complicated subject, too much for me. I just home someone knows what he's doing.

[Dave5143]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
JimK-NY

I am going to treat this as a serious inquiry. Am I making a mistake?

...snip...

About 35% of fuels now originate in the USA. Gasoline imports are near 50%

I was wondering the same thing, thanks for taking the time to explain the second order effects of the tariffs. I did not know that.

[Yosemite_Sam1]

ppine wrote:
This is an example of the worst kind of government intervention. Making desirable products that produce clean energy more expensive. Beyond stupid.

Stupider (???) than killing our own beans and other agricultural sector, making the farmers suffer, when we're supposed to fed the world with our produce?

[MEXICOWANDERER]

JimK-NY

I am going to treat this as a serious inquiry. Am I making a mistake?

About 95% of Chinese CONSUMER items imported to Mexico are not unloaded in containers at Mexican ports such as Manzanillo or Lazaro Cardenas.

The OVERWHELMING percentage of ship container CONSUMER goods arrived at the Port of Los Angeles and then are trucked to Aduanals. OTAY MESA and Cd JUAREZ are examples.

From there the items are freighted to warehouses in Tijuana, Juarez and Monterrey. Then again to large cities further south. Containers for the most part are not re-loaded they make direct yard to yard transfers.

Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan is no 1 for bulk freight from China. But warehousing area sucks. So pallets and carboys, and shipping containers are loaded directly onto waiting trucks. I can thank Ismael Gutierrez, head of SAT Aduana in Lazaro Cardenas for a personal one hour tour. A 40' freight container was shipped by me from the port of Long Beach to Lazaro Cardenas in 1989. It weighed 9,500 lbs and cost me almost five thousand dollars (the more you ship the cheaper it gets). It took 35 agonizing days.

There is a generations old saying in Mexico...

"When the United States gets a cold, Mexico gets pneumonia."

There is a solid exception to shipping rules. Imported overseas foodstuffs, fresh or canned, are direct from country of origin. Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay.



About 35% of fuels now originate in the USA. Gasoline imports are near 50%

[KD4UPL]

So what news story is being referenced?
I've been in the solar business for many years. I've seen prices free fall for solar panels. Just 12 years ago my wholesale price on a panel was somewhere between $6 and $5 per watt. Now, if I buy in quantity from the right vendor I can get panels for under $.50 per watt. So, let's say the $.50 per watt goes up 25%, that makes it about $.63 per watt. That's still about an 1/8 of what I used to pay. I don't think it's that big a deal. I guess it's all in perspective.

[bpounds]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Comments about the Solar Blvd Kit, below? Price includes shipping...

https://www.solarblvd.com/products/12-volt-360-watt-mono-solar-panel-kit-with-free-shipping/

I wouldn't buy that kit, but more importantly, I keep seeing posts about how great Solar Blvd is. A couple months ago I called, and they were just about out of business. Only a few 80w panels left at that time, and the clerk I spoke with was looking for his next job. So I called just now, and their 888 number is not working. Their web presence is definitely not kept up to date on stock.

I would suggest we don't sing their songs anymore unless/until someone successfully completes a transaction with them.

Amazon has plenty of panels available, and free shipping for the 12v varieties.