Trade Remedies in the Renewable Energy Sector: Normal Value and Double Remedies

Subsidies within the renewable energy (RE) sector are rife. Active government support is now advocated as a part of 'green industrial policy' to stimulate growth within the sector. While providing the positive externality of climate change mitigation, these policies leave certain government support measures vulnerable to countermeasures under WTO law. The same products are also often subject to simultaneous anti-dumping duties. This article aims to investigate the interaction between these trade remedies in the RE sector. It examines what lessons can be taken from recent reports of the WTO Panel and Appellate Body, and examines the 2012 US and 2013 EU investigations into the dumping of photovoltaic products from China. It concludes by reviewing outstanding issues for trade remedies in the RE sector; namely, the appropriate choice of surrogate third country and sampling technique, the accurate calculation of dumping and subsidy effects, and the burden of proof for double remedies.