https://cen.acs.org/energy/solar-power/US-solar-polysilicon-…
C&EN article again shows how China is able to take over industries it chooses and drive competitors out of the business. Ditto rare earths and some think battery grade lithium.
Is there a solution to this problem? Govt subsidies? Govt stockpiles?
Is there a solution to this problem? Govt subsidies? Govt stockpiles?
As long as China chooses to subsidize the cost of producing REEs, the only viable alternatives are other govts subsidizing required (domestic?) production and buying the output. I used to buy a REE, and the free market can do strange things. Our supply (domestic US production) was cut off by the refiner because they could sell it for far more on the open market (huge demand). After a year or so (and major shortages worldwide–prices 50x historic levels), scientists were able to use a previously-discarded REE as a substitute for the electronics industry and. The REE we used fell rapidly to its historic price. It has gone up in price, but that is likely due to increased demand because it has a wide range of specialized uses (including military munitions).
Is there a solution to this problem? Govt subsidies? Govt stockpiles?
Antidumping laws.
Introduction to AD/CVD
Unfair foreign pricing and government subsidies distort the free flow of goods and adversely affect American business in the global marketplace. Enforcement and Compliance, within the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce, enforces laws and agreements to protect U.S. businesses from unfair competition within the United States, resulting from unfair pricing by foreign companies and unfair subsidies to foreign companies by their governments.
https://www.trade.gov/us-antidumping-and-countervailing-duti…
but you have to enforce them BEFORE your local industries go bankrupt. Beware the siren song of globalization based on cheap labor. When they say “the Chinese have patience,” that’s their key advantage. Americans are fixated on the short term – quarterly reports, whats the Fed going to say tomorrow?
Tomorrow is just a blink of time.
The Captain