WASHINGTON ( Reuters) October 31st - Members of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) offered three different proposals on Tuesday to limit the import of solar cells and solar panels, which gives President Trump multiple options to deal with the problems that domestic manufacturers have suffered from.

The proposals include an immediate 35% tariff on all imported solar panels and a four-year quota system allowing up to 8.9 million kilowatts of solar cells and modules to be imported in the first year. The president's final decision could have a significant impact on the price of solar power in the United States.

People who support or oppose restrictions on the import of solar products are disappointed with the proposal. These proposals were disclosed at a public meeting in Washington.

Earlier this year two small U.S. manufacturers filed a petition for trade remedy, saying they could not compete with cheap foreign-owned solar panels mainly from Asia. The two companies, respectively, are the US branches of Suniva and SolarWorld AG of Germany (SWVKk.F), which said Tuesday's proposed approach did not adequately protect domestic manufacturers.

One analyst said the toughest remedy was a 35% tariff on solar panels, which would add about 10% to utility-grade project costs but had insignificant impact on housing systems because the panels themselves only accounted for the overall cost a small part.

However, the US solar industry organization Solar Energy Industries Association said in a statement on Tuesday that any tariff would be "extremely harmful" to the industry. The group is actively lobbying against restrictions on imports on the grounds that these restrictions will hurt the 70% decline in solar energy costs from 2010 onwards, and it is this decline that has helped to increase the competitiveness of solar energy technologies in fossil fuels.

ITC will submit a report to Trump by November 13. He will have plenty of room to propose his own alternatives or not to make any changes. Since only two members agreed on one of the restrictions, the four-member committee did not propose the majority of members.

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