Strasbourg, 02/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - Brussels and Beijing are involved in a race against the clock to find a solution by the end of August that will avoid the planned increase in provisional anti-dumping duties.
The EU and China have agreed to resolve their dispute over photovoltaic panels by setting a baseline price aiming to re-establish fair competition and to bring solace to European manufacturers, said French weekly newspaper Journal du Dimanche on 30 June.
Two options are reportedly on the table. The first would involve China setting a baseline price for the sale of solar panels on the European market. The second would impose a quota on Chinese exports of solar panels to Europe, above which customs duties would apply. Yet the idea of a tax does not reportedly suit either of the two trading partners.
By contrast, the idea of putting prices up again is reportedly a common objective for the two partners - both in order to bring help to a European photovoltaic industry that is in dire straits up against Chinese competition, and in order to help Chinese manufacturers put an end to the fierce war that they are waging themselves on the national market, the Journal du Dimanche states. Chinese manufacturers could commit to increasing their prices by 10-15%.
Since 6 June, the EU has imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese solar panels, but the duties are only 11.8% as the European Commission decided on a two-stage response in order to encourage Beijing to negotiate. However, should a negotiated solution not materialise, the average tariff will be 47.6% from 6 August, with lower duties (37.2%) for the Chinese companies that have cooperated, and heavier duties (67.9%) for those that have not cooperated. European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht implied during his trip to Beijing on 21 June that a solution could be found “at the beginning of July at the latest”.
“The EU's position is unchanged, which is to settle the dispute through negotiation”, asserted the EU's ambassador to China, Markus Ederer, during a conference in Beijing on 1 July. “I cannot predict the result, but I see two sides who have a lot of goodwill to negotiate”, he added. (EH/transl.fl)