Brussels, 11/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - The association at the root of the initiative on the antidumping investigation on solar panels, EU ProSun, describes the Chinese proposals as “a joke”.
This week, international media were reporting on a forthcoming happy ending to the conflict between the EU and China regarding the Chinese solar panels that are massively exported to the European market at dumping prices and with subsidies. According to information passed on at the end of last week by the national media Shanghai Security News, China should have proposed capping the volume of its solar panel exports to the EU at 10 gigawatts, i.e. a reduction of only 20% compared to 2012, and it should have fixed its minimum price at €0.50 per watt compared to the current €0.37, i.e. a rise of 35%, well above the Commission's expectations. In exchange, Beijing would demand that its exports be not highly taxed or not taxed at all.
Further to an antidumping investigation launched in September 2012, the EU has imposed since 6 June provisional taxes on Chinese solar panels, but of no more than 11.8%, as the Commission had decided to make a two-stage response to encourage Beijing to negotiate. If no negotiated solution is found, the average tariff will, from 6 August, be 47.6% with lower duties (37.2%) for Chinese companies that have cooperated in the investigation, and higher duties (67.9%) for those companies that did not cooperate.
The first leaks concern the main players in this sector. On one side, Afase, the association that groups players upstream and downstream in the photovoltaics sector (installers, for example) warned against anything that could entail price hikes unaffordable for its industry. On the other hand, EU ProSun, the association of European solar panel producers at the origin of the investigation, describes the Chinese proposals as “a joke” and demands “a legally acceptable offer” from Beijing. (EH/transl.jl)