On Monday 19 December, EU ProSun (the European association of solar panel manufacturers) criticised the call – in a letter to European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström from around 20 MEPs, led by Christofer Fjellner (EPP, Sweden) – for an end to measures on dumped and subsidised solar cells and modules from China.
"Fjellner’s request to allow Chinese dumping in the solar sector again is another senseless assault on companies which manufacture in the EU, invest in R&D and keep jobs in Europe”, EU ProSun says in a press release.
Backed by over 30 solar panel manufacturing companies in 15 EU member states, EU ProSun is at the origin of the complaint that resulted in the establishment of anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panels as part of the gentleman's agreement concluded between the European Commission and Chinese government in summer 2013. Under the terms of this gentleman's agreement, Chinese solar panel producers that are committed to respecting a floor price do not pay anti-dumping duties (see EUROPE 11447).
EU ProSun points out around ten inaccuracies in Fjellner's letter, including the allegation that the current anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on Chinese solar cells and modules apparently increase the price of solar installations and delays grid parity.
"The opposite is true: today we have attained an all-time low of prices for solar installations, 30% lower than before the imposition of the measures on unfairly traded imports from China which is due to €2,000 saving per average household installation. Grid parity has almost been reached in most EU member states", EU ProSun underlines.
In contrast to the call launched by Fjellner, EU ProSun calls on the Commission – which is due to give its verdict in March 2017 on the review investigation as regards the expiry of the anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar cells and modules (an investigation launched in December 2015 and which extended these duties by 15 months – see EUROPE 11645) to conclude in favour of extending them and improving the way they are enforced.
"Only fair competition and clear rules enable sustainable market growth. To have the renewable part of the Energy Union rely only on illegal Chinese dumping and the export subsidy politics of the Communist Party in Beijing – as the 22 MEPs implicitly suggest – would be a terrible mistake and put in jeopardy the leading position of the EU in renewable energy technologies such as solar”, EU ProSun states.
As the Commission's Joint Research Centre shows in its photovoltaic (PV) industry report – which the MEPs cite "selectively and out of context" – "Europe still has an excellent PV R&D infrastructure along the value chain, but it will only be possible to maintain this in the long run if industry players along this value chain, including PV manufacturing, are operating in Europe", EU ProSun concludes. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)