REC, one of the largest suppliers of solar panels in Europe, has reiterated its position on proposed EU ‘anti-dumping’ duties, an issue that has quickly become of the most hotly debated topics in the sector.
The official decision on duties will be made on June 6th 2013, however as reported earlier this week individual member states, with the exception of France and Italy, are very much opposed to the idea. Germany was initially favourable but Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has now announced its preference for a negotiated settlement. Meanwhile, the Chinese have warned that any EU move to impose duties would have serious implications, potentially sparking off a trade war.
“We support open and fair competition and strongly believe that the duties are not in the interest of the European solar industry,” said Luc Graré, Senior Vice President Solar Sales and Marketing, REC. “The demand for European solar panels will rise at first, but simultaneously, the market for solar electricity is likely to shrink; meaning that distributors, installers and also manufacturers will be affected in the long term as solar projects unwell become less attractive for investors due to their high uncertainty.”
Mr Graré added that while there will be a price advantage for the European market there will also be increased competition in the Asia Pacific region resulting from the introduction of import duties there.
“Since Chinese manufacturers will then try to aggressively sell their solar panels in Asia, the price pressure will rise in that region.”
REC nevertheless will not be affected by duties since it produces cells, wafers and solar panels at its production facility in Singapore and uses no Chinese components.
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