Troutman Sanders LLP (LexBlog China)

On April 21, Missouri became the first state to sue China in response to the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. Led by Attorney General Eric Schmitt, Missouri joins the ranks of at least seven federal class action lawsuits that have been filed by groups of private plaintiffs claiming that China, despite knowing the danger of COVID-19, acted...

For the first time in many years, there seems to be momentum in Washington D.C. for the adoption of a national paid sick leave policy. Currently, nine states and at least 10 localities have paid sick leave laws. Paid sick leave is common throughout Europe, in many South American countries, and even in China. The...

United States executive agencies are practically always on the same page when presenting to the public. So, it is incredibly unusual to see two such agencies taking positions directly contrary to one another in pending litigation. This, however, is exactly the current situation between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), headed by Attorney General Jeff...

(Reposted from PVTech.org by John Parnell – 08 January 2014)  The US government has officially opened an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese solar products imported into the US. The latest complaint has been called “not clever” by China’s official industry body and has also met resistance closer to home. The decision by the US...

Partly driven by an oversupply of cheaper panels from China, the domestic solar market had its best year in 2012, with the growth in installations outpacing that of the global market, according to an annual report to be released Thursday. The report, from the Solar Energy Industries Association, the industry’s main trade group, and GTM...

The Economist (Mar 6th 2013, 18:13 by V.V.V. | SHANGHAI) – A CASUAL glance at the business headlines might suggest that China’s renewable-energy industry is an unstoppable juggernaut. Over the past decade, Chinese firms have used supportive government policies and lavish subsidies to leapfrog to the top of the world’s wind and solar industries. This has...

A new petition was filed with the International Trade Commission (ITC) and the Department of Commerce on October 19, 2011, alleging that imports of crystalline silicon solar cells and panels from China are being sold at unfair value (i.e., “dumped”) in the U.S. The petition also alleges that imports from China are benefitting from unlawful...

This article is written by Edward Epstein, Office Managing Partner of Troutman Sanders’ Shanghai Office. It appeared first in ACORE’s Summer 2011 US-China Quarterly Market Review and is reprinted with ACORE’s permission. To access the full Quarterly Market Review, click here and use this custom discount code for 25% off the cost: CBQMR25 China’s economy...

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced June 7 that China has ended targeted wind power equipment subsidies in response to a U.S. challenge at the World Trade Organization.

On October 15 the Obama Administration’s Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced it would initiate an investigation of an array of Chinese governmental policies supporting the development of green technology.  The investigation is being conducted under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (“section 301”), which authorizes USTR to take action to...

Recently, several news outlets reported on the shortage of rare earth elements and the effect the shortage may have on technology development within the energy industry.  Specifically, rare earth elements are predominantly mined and refined in China, which is using more and exporting less of the resource.   If that trend continues, there is speculation that wind...