The American solar power industry has given a smattering of applause to the US government, after it confirmed plans to impose charges on imported modules designed to reduce the glut of cheap PV imports from China.

The US Commerce Department yesterday announced it would impose preliminary tariffs of 2.9 per cent to 4.73 per cent on Chinese solar imports, after concluding the Beijing government was providing illegal subsidies to homegrown manufacturers.

Imports from Trina Solar will be slapped with a 4.73 per cent charge, Suntech imports will have a 2.9 per cent tariff and the remaining Chinese imports will be charged 3.6 per cent.

The move raises the prospect of a trade war with China over the support it offers to domestic manufacturers.

The news received a mixed response from across the solar industry.

Some US manufacturers expressed frustration that the levies were unexpectedly low, with Reuters reporting that energy analysts had expected preliminary duties of 20 to 30 per cent.

However, a number of manufacturers, including SolarWorld, which led the case for subsidy relief, welcomed the move as an attempt to counter the glut of cheap Chinese products and boost the US market.

Frank Asbeck, chief executive of SolarWorld, also told Reuters that a similar case was being prepared in the European Union, but he declined to give any further details.

Some manufacturers hope the US government will increase levies on 16 May, when it makes a further announcement on whether Chinese manufacturers have illegally dumped solar products on the US market at artificially low prices.

“[This] announcement affirms what US manufacturers have long known: Chinese manufacturers have received unfair and World Trade Organisation-illegal subsidies,” said Steve Ostrenga, chief executive officer of Helios Solar Works and the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM), which represents around 150 US solar firms.

“We appreciate the Commerce Department’s hard work in bringing these subsidies to light, and we look forward to addressing all of China’s unfair trade practices in the solar industry.”

In 2010, the US Department of Energy estimated the Chinese government provided its manufacturers with more than $30bn in subsidies, allowing Chinese manufacturers to offer modules at highly competitive prices.

CASM maintains at least 12 domestic producers have made redundancies, gone bankrupt or closed plants during the past two years, partly as a result of these subsidies, including the high-profile case of Solyndra which filed for bankruptcy in August 2011, after receiving a $535m state-backed loan guarantee.

However, solar installers and customers are furious at the US government’s intervention, arguing that it is denying businesses and households access to cost-effective imported solar panels.

The US-based Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy (CASE) said any tariff would damage the US jobs market, while increasing reliance on fossil fuels.

“This decision [to opt for relatively low tariffs] clearly demonstrates that the Commerce Department did not find the Chinese government engaged in massive subsidisation, as SolarWorld and CASM claim,” it said. “There is more work to be done to protect the future of solar industry and power in America.”

The Chinese government has yet to respond to the move, but it has in the past argued that its renewable energy subsidies are not illegal and are in line with global efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. It has also hinted that it will challenge any attempt by the US to restrict imports, stessing that Washington also uses subsidies to promote its own clean energy induustries.