As a result, the Commissions made a proposal to impose definitive anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures for a period of two years. The proposed duties would average 47.7 percent.
The European Council has backed the European Commission’s decision to impose anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on Chinese solar panel exports.
“Unfair trade in solar panels does not help the environment and is not compatible with a healthy global solar industry,” read a statement issued by the European Commission announcing the decision.
The rates of the duties to be placed on Chinese solar exports to the E.U. will depend on whether or not their exporters cooperated with an E.U. anti-dumping investigation launched in September of last year (see related story).
After a nine month investigation, the Commission had ruled that Chinese companies had been selling solar panels in Europe at a price far below their normal market value, harming E.U. solar panel makers (see related story).
As a result, the Commissions made a proposal to impose definitive anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures for a period of two years. The proposed duties would average 47.7 percent.
On July of this year, a decision was reached between a group of Chinese solar exporters and the E.U. by which, instead of anti-dumping duties, a price undertaking would be imposed. The Chinese exporters participating in this agreement would sell their products in the E.U. based on a minimum import price (see related story).
As of the decision reached today, the Chinese exporters that were part of the July price undertaking will be exempt from any anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties. Around 75 percent of Chinese solar panel exports in the E.U. are from exporters that have participated in the undertaking.
Meanwhile, the duties to be placed on exporters that cooperated with the initial investigations will stay at an average of 47.7 percent and will apply for two years as of December 6, 2013. These rates are applicable to the majority of exporters.
For exporters who did not cooperate in the Commission’s investigations, a duty of 67.9 percent will be slapped on their products. This is estimated to affect less than 20 percent of Chinese exports to the E.U.
In a statement, the European Commission announced that they were confident that these duties would contribute to creating a level playing field for Europe’s renewable energy industry which would help the E.U. meet its renewable energy targets. – K. Jalbuena
