EU Investigates China's PV Exporters

EU Investigates China's PV Exporters

by Bill Sweet

The European Union has launched an investigation of Chinese photovoltaics exporters after receiving a complaint from Solarworld, the same company that joined with six other companies to bring a similar complaint in the United States. The U.S. investigations led to the imposition on China of preliminary antisubsidy tariffs in March and preliminary antidumping tariffs in May.
The European investigation, which is confined to antidumping charges (selling below production costs), could be even more important. China exports 90 percent of its PV product, and Europe is by far its largest market: Last year Europe’s PV imports from China came to €21 billion, or roughly US $26.5 billion.
China’s PV exporters to Europe have been able to collect the same generous subsidies that European governments have created with local manufacturers in mind, and this has had the same devastating impact there as in the United States. Read morehttp://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/green-tech/solar/europe-investigates-chinas-solar-exporters