EU faces solar panel clash with China

The Commission will examine complaints from a group of solar energy companies that claim their Chinese rivals have been ?dumping? up to 80pc of their exports in Europe.

The inquiry, which will last up to 15 months, could impose duties on imports, following a similar move by the United States in May.

Panel prices fell by 75pc in Europe between 2008 and 2011 as China rapidly increased production, according to EU ProSun, the lobby group for solar energy companies. The group argues that China?s only production advantage is the cost of labour, which accounts for about a tenth of the cost of producing a panel. Yet it claims that four-fifths of solar panels sold in Europe last year were made in China, up from almost none eight years ago.

The European Union accounted for 60pc of all Chinese solar exports last year. China?s solar energy companies had pledged a trade war in July when the threat of the investigation first emerged.

Today Shen Danyang, a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman, expressed ?deep regret? over the decision. ?Restricting China?s solar panel products will not only hurt the interests of both Chinese and European industry, it will also wreck the healthy development of the global solar and clean energy sector,? he said .

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/569181/s/2327c038/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cfinance0Cnewsbysector0Cenergy0C95270A220CEU0Efaces0Esolar0Epanel0Eclash0Ewith0EChina0Bhtml/story01.htm

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