Solar Panel Wars Part II: WTO Rules Against US

As previously covered in the blog (link), the WTO issued a ruling in the Solar Panel War. The verdict is that the US improperly imposed tariffs on Chinese steel and solar panels (link). The US had argued it had to impose tariffs to combat artificially low prices on products from India and China's state-subsidised industries. Dont hold your breath. The Solar Panel War is not over since the US can still appeal.

Who benefits in the US, in China/India and what does that mean for pollution and global welfare? Use all relevant trade theories to support your answer.  

Workers in China holding solar panels

Industrial Policy Revival

Dani Rodrik has a nice summary of the recent revival of Industrial Policy (aka Infant Industry Protection in Chapter 7) across industrial and developed nations. Much of Paul Krugman's work on "Strategic Trade" for his Nobel Prize emphasizes the role of industrial policy. Economists have never really warmed up to the term and its implications, since everyone agrees that its near impossible to pick winners. Now Rodrik has a new mantra: "the standard rap against industrial policy is that governments cannot pick winners. Of course they can’t, but that is largely irrelevant. What determines success in industrial policy is not the ability to pick winners, but the capacity to let the losers go – a much less demanding requirement."