German solar firms are preparing anti-dumping litigation against China in an effort to curb cheap panel imports often backed by state subsidies.
The German government is supporting the move. Meanwhile, the Chinese government appears determined to retaliate as it announced Friday it would open an investigation into imports of solar-grade polysilicon from the US and South Korea.
Germany’s second biggest solar firm, Solarword, said Friday that it would seek anti-dumping proceedings with the European Commission in Brussels with the aim of imposing punitive tariffs on cheap solar imports from China.
Highlighting the need for action “as fast as possible”, a company spokesman told the dpa news agency that “a number of solar companies” would join the effort, but he didn’t disclose the names of firms participating.
“The [German] solar industry is fully competitive, and able to compete against anyone in the world except the central government in China”, the spokesman said.
Beijingwas putting “huge sums” into export subsidies for solar products, he claimed, enabling Chinese firms to sell them in Europe at prices that undercut even the production costs.
The German government appears to be backing the companies’ anti-dumping action. German Environment Minister Peter Altmaier told German public broadcaster ZDF on Thursday that he would “fully support” the companies in the effort.
