The European Union threatened to extend tariffs on solar panels from
China to Taiwan and Malaysia, saying Chinese exporters may be using the
two countries to evade the levies. The European Commission, the 28-nation EU’s trade authority in
Brussels, opened inquiries into whether Chinese exporters of solar
panels shipped them via Taiwan and Malaysia to dodge EU duties meant to
counter alleged below-cost — or “dumped” — imports and subsidies.
The probes, which can last as long as nine months, stem from April 15
requests by German solar-panel maker Solarworld AG, the commission said
on Friday in the Official Journal. The requests show that “a significant change in the pattern of trade
involving exports from the People’s Republic of China, Malaysia and
Taiwan to the union has taken place following the imposition of the
measures, without sufficient due cause or economic justification for
such a change other than the imposition of the duty,” the commission
said.
The investigations are the latest signs of weaknesses in an EU-China agreement in late 2013
to curb European imports of Chinese solar panels. The accord, meant to
end the EU’s biggest commercial dispute of its kind, set a minimum price
and a volume limit on European imports of the renewable-energy
technology until the end of 2015. Chinese manufacturers that opted to
take part in the pact are spared EU anti-dumping and anti-subsidy
duties.
Tariff Exemptions
The commission has threatened to revoke tariff exemptions for three
groups of Chinese solar-panel producers, including Canadian Solar Inc.
subsidiaries, because of possible breaches of the price-floor pact. It’s
also considering whether to exclude Chinese prices from a benchmark
that determines adjustments to the minimum import price in Europe. As part of the circumvention probes announced on Friday, the
commission ordered EU customs officials to register imports of solar
panels from Taiwan and Malaysia. That step would allow duties on
shipments from Taiwan and Malaysia to be applied retroactively should
the investigations determine that circumvention by Chinese exporters
took place.
©2015 Bloomberg News
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