Brussels, 03/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht will recommend high taxes on solar panels from China in order to protect the EU solar panel industry.
De Gucht will recommend that the member states introduce an anti-dumping levy of at least 30% on imports of solar panels and their components from China, where production quadrupled between 2009 and 2011 and is now excedes global demand. A diplomat is quoted by Reuters this weekend as saying: “Commissioner De Gucht is ready to go ahead. The Commission has a very solid case”. In September 2012, the European Commission opened an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese solar panel and solar panel components exports after EU ProSun which represents the European solar panel industry (see EUROPE 10683) lodged a complaint. De Gucht is planning to rectify a serious disadvantage for European industry in that exports of Chinese solar panels and components to the EU reached €21 billion in 2011. The same exports are also being investigated from an anti-subsidy angle.
Commissioner De Gucht will submit the levy to his peers at the next meeting of the College of Commissioner (Wednesday 8 May) and then to member states' trade experts. Diplomats say the Council is likely to give the go-ahead so the anti-dumping levy can come into force by 6 June. An arrangement may, however, be reached with China before 6 December, the date when definitive anti-dumping duty would come into force for five years.
Nine national associations oppose idea of anti-dumping duty. Headed by the UK's Solar Trade Association, eight national solar panel associations (three from Italy, one from Romania, one from Poland, one from Hungary, one from Sweden and one from Slovakia) sent a letter to Karel De Gucht this week arguing against the anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panels and calling for the investigation into subsidies to be dropped. They warn that their members unanimously believe that any anti-dumping and/or compensatory measure, at whatever level, would have an immediate impact on the prices they have to charge their customers for solar panels. (EH/transl.fl)