German and European solar manufacturers sharply reject the EU Commission’s proposals to reduce anti-dumping minimum prices. The industry, which has struggled with overcapacities and dumped prices from China for years, decries the Commission’s about-face regarding China and importers of cheap Chinese goods. The Commission plans to reduce minimum import prices for Chinese solar cells and modules by more than 30 percent within the next 10 months. Despite resistance from manufacturing countries, a meeting of EU member states yesterday failed to block the proposal.
“The new anti-dumping prices are below international manufacturing costs. They are de facto dumping prices themselves. This makes a farce out of EU anti-dumping law,” said Milan Nitzschke, President of the manufacturer’s initiative EU ProSun. “The Commission has failed to ensure effective enforcement and control of the anti-dumping rules for solar imports for the past four years. Now it is lowering the minimum price so far that there is practically nothing more to control.” At stake, once again, are thousands of jobs. Said Nitzschke: “Instead of doing everything possible to keep the strategic photovoltaic industry in Europe, European politics is doing everything possible to hand it over to China."
Manufacturers rebut importers’ arguments that anti-dumping measures would slow progress in the solar sector. "Eighty percent of patents used internationally in the solar industry come from Europe and the USA. China’s copying, and it’s only able to follow on a time-delayed basis. The prices of solar installations in Europe have fallen by 72 percent in the last 10 years. Without minimum prices, it would be 74 percent – hence, only 2 percent more, since the minimum import prices apply only to solar cells and modules, which make up only a part of the solar power system. The abolition of anti-dumping measures would be marginal for customers but disastrous for producers.”
Solar manufacturers are calling on the EU Commission to change its plans for the short term and to protect high-quality European solar products effectively against China’s state-funded price dumping. In addition, manufacturers request that the several hundred million euros in fraud perpetrated by importers who have circumvented trade measures and issued false import declarations in recent years finally be punished.
“The new anti-dumping prices are below international manufacturing costs. They are de facto dumping prices themselves. This makes a farce out of EU anti-dumping law,” said Milan Nitzschke, President of the manufacturer’s initiative EU ProSun. “The Commission has failed to ensure effective enforcement and control of the anti-dumping rules for solar imports for the past four years. Now it is lowering the minimum price so far that there is practically nothing more to control.” At stake, once again, are thousands of jobs. Said Nitzschke: “Instead of doing everything possible to keep the strategic photovoltaic industry in Europe, European politics is doing everything possible to hand it over to China."
Manufacturers rebut importers’ arguments that anti-dumping measures would slow progress in the solar sector. "Eighty percent of patents used internationally in the solar industry come from Europe and the USA. China’s copying, and it’s only able to follow on a time-delayed basis. The prices of solar installations in Europe have fallen by 72 percent in the last 10 years. Without minimum prices, it would be 74 percent – hence, only 2 percent more, since the minimum import prices apply only to solar cells and modules, which make up only a part of the solar power system. The abolition of anti-dumping measures would be marginal for customers but disastrous for producers.”
Solar manufacturers are calling on the EU Commission to change its plans for the short term and to protect high-quality European solar products effectively against China’s state-funded price dumping. In addition, manufacturers request that the several hundred million euros in fraud perpetrated by importers who have circumvented trade measures and issued false import declarations in recent years finally be punished.