Jul 30, 2013 - European solar industry association EU ProSun plans to file a lawsuit with the EU General Court against the solar power agreement between Europe and China announced last week.
In a statement on Saturday, the organisation’s president Milan Nitzschke said that the agreement between China and the European Commission (EC) is “contrary in every respect to European law” and is threatening the solar market in Europe.
China agreed with the European Union (EU) to sell its solar equipment in the EU above fixed floor prices. Under the price undertaking plan, a move which is in line with the laws of the EU and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), exporting Chinese companies participating in the price-undertaking will be exempted from the anti-dumping levies, the EU said.
According to EU ProSun, the agreement violates the EU’s laws, which allow the cancellation of anti-dumping duties through a price undertaking only on condition that the minimum price agreed will be high enough to offset the harms caused to the European market. The adopted minimum price of between EUR 0.55 (USD 0.73) and EUR 0.57 "would lie exactly at the level of the current dumping price", EU ProSun said. In addition, the quantity to which the undertaking exemption applies, equal to about 70% of the expected PV market demand, is seen as a "guarantee of sales at that level and more for China and an authorization to sell at dumped prices", Nitzschke claims.
Last month the EU announced its decision to levy provisional anti-dumping charges of between 37.2% and 67.9% on Chinese imports of solar panels, cells and wafers. For two months starting on June 6, defined as a transitional period, Chinese solar imports are subject to a tariff of 11.8%. After August 6 the full duties, standing at 47.6% on average, are to enter into force if the two sides do not reach any compromise. The price undertaking agreement is still subject to the European Commission's approval.
(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.328)
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