Brussels, 25/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - President François Hollande of France wishes to settle the photovoltaic dispute with Beijing “in a conciliatory spirit”.
Speaking to some 40 key Chinese business leaders in Paris on 25 June, Hollande said he wished a negotiated settlement to be found to the thorny issue of Chinese solar panels that have been subject to provisional anti-dumping duties since 6 June. France, he said on Tuesday, has always been in favour of such disputes being settled through negotiation and in a conciliatory spirit.
The EU has imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese solar panels since 6 June, albeit only of 11.8% as the Commission had decided that there should be a two-stage response in order to encourage Beijing to negotiate. However, as there has been no negotiated solution, the average tariff will rise to 47.6% on 6 August with lower duties (37.2%) for Chinese companies that have cooperated in the investigation, and higher duties (67.9%) for those that failed to cooperate.
Commissioner Karel De Gucht intimated during his trip to Beijing at the end of last week that a solution could be found early July at the latest (see EUROPE 10872). (EH/transl.jl)