What Lawsuit? DOC-funded Program Facilitates U.S.-Chinese Trade for All Renewables

Meg Cichon
December 09, 2011 | 3 Comments

There has been much tension in the renewables industry as the U.S.-China trade dispute progresses. Valid arguments for and against the suit have been made clear, and the ITC (International Trade Commission) has determined that Chinese solar panel imports are harming the U.S. solar manufacturing industry. Now all we can do is wait for the ITC and Department of Commerce (DOC) to continue their investigations.

But while all this excitement plays out, a small U.S.-funded program has been ignoring the hype and pressing on. The Green Export Enabler Program (GEEP) is a grant-funded initiative that specifically enables green U.S. exports to China. Its seven-step program is tailored to guide U.S. companies (with at least 51 percent U.S. content) to get their technology and products in China.

I caught up with the program at step six — the 2011 Eco Expo Asia in Hong Kong. At the show, the GEEP program anchored the U.S. Pavillion, which was filled with companies looking to export their products. How did they get there? According to the GEEP website, after a $1,000 enrollment fee, the client then recieves a $1,500 offset for their export activities in China. All clients generally follow these steps:

Step 1: Customized Competitive Audit and Consulting
Step 2: Customized Export Readiness Assessment
Step 3: Workshops on All Aspects of Exporting
Step 4: Customized China Entry Strategy and Action Plan
Step 5: Market Promotion and Matchmaking Events
Step 6: Representative Office/Showroom in Hong Kong
Step 7: Export Financing and Transaction Support

The program hopes to take advantage of the massive need for clean resources in China, with a specific focus in Hong Kong. According to Kerry Bonner, GEEP project manager, the program communicates with government ministers to determine products that cities require; these decisions determine potentially successful companies. Once a company makes an agreement, the program aids in establishing a long-term presence for expansion — this includes patent protection.

Ryan Mulholland, trade specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce, notes in a DOC newsletter that due to China’s rapidly developing economy, increasing energy concerns and environmental pressures makes this the perfect time for renewables trade investment. During Mulholland’s presentation at the Expo, he emphasized Hong Kong and its healthy mix of incentives and investment opportunity, which is enhanced by a highly skilled, educated workforce. These factors allow for significant trade opportunities in the U.S.

“A lot of renewable technology we enjoy today is because of research and development in the United States. We need to invest in U.S. research and academic establishments to get our technology to China,” said Mulholland. “During this recession, renewables have still grown. And when the global economy picks up, there will be even more growth.”

The information and views expressed in this blog post are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of RenewableEnergyWorld.com or the companies that advertise on this Web site and other publications. This blog was posted directly by the author and was not reviewed for accuracy, spelling or grammar.

3 Comments

Ralph Perez
December 13, 2011

Let's put the same amount of effort (and subsidies) that's going toward trade protection towards a nationwide FIT.

Isn't patent protection in a socialist country an oxymoron? If you learn in taxpayer paid schools, drive on taxpayer paid roads, get your loans and educational grants from taxpayer paid programs, are protected by taxpayer paid police and army, have your health care paid by taxpayer dollars, etc, etc, etc, don't you owe society something? ... or should you become a non taxpaying billionaire via patent protection and because you paid the politicians to make the laws favoring you? Socialist countries seem to realize that the ideas are nurtured by a taxpayer paved financial entity. Therefore people should be able to partake of a greater portion of the benefits of the creator/inventor's ideas.

Note: See where the Solyndra technology and solar ink patents go and how much it is benefiting our country.

Also, what does it currently cost for a citizen to do a rooftop solar PV (for a house and an electric car battery) installation in China?

Douglas Prince
December 13, 2011

"...the program aids in establishing a long-term presence for expansion — this includes patent protection."

Uhh, right. And exactly WHO is getting the patent protection? The company that created the idea or the Chinese government that is insisting any foreign company who wants to break into the Chinese market must surrender all intellectual property rights in order to do business in China?

Gregory L Smith
December 13, 2011

One area that the Department of Commerce has repeatedly ignored and which could bring markets to the USA, are to find/locate individuals that wish to be associated with any company that they do not know, but that has products that the individuals could enhance by several methods, thus giving a company a superior effort and opportunity to enhance their effort in China and other foreign markets. Sometimes innovation is missing that could enhance the design of a product or even create unique one of a kind solution that has before not been considered or known about in the industry. Often inventors are hesitant to offer help, since large volumes of income could be produced and their efforts towards securing them could be considered ineffective or very effective, leaving the individual with reservations about continuing a mutually desirable partnership or companion process. It is a concept of defining and rewarding mutually effective designing and invention creation. Sometimes the individual does not have sufficient capital to create simple but valuable designed products that just need blue-printing, patenting and then production. So, while many companies already know what products they wish to offer, many other companies have no clue as to what Chinese or other foreign markets want. Russian markets may be the next opening and often language skills are needed. When will compaines seek out mutually effective individuals that offer such opportunities to discover such need based marketing? Thank you!

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Meg Cichon

As associate editor of RenewableEnergyWorld.com, I coordinate and edit feature stories, contributed articles, news stories, opinion pieces and blogs. I also research and write content for RenewableEnergyWorld.com and REW magazine. I manage...