China Slaps Anti-dumping Duty on US Polysilicon
China has imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on
imports of US and South Korean polysilicon, an
ingredient used in making solar panels, officials announced last week. The news
marks the latest in a series of high-profile disagreements between China and
its partners over trade in solar energy products, with Beijing also in the
midst of negotiating a solution in a separate row with Brussels on the subject
ahead of a looming August deadline.
The duties announced by China last Thursday are the result of
a year-long investigation, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce
(MOFCOM).
“MOFCOM [has] made the preliminary ruling that during the
investigation period of this case, there was dumping of the products under
investigation and China’s domestic industry was substantially damaged, and
there was causal relationship between the dumping and substantive damages,” the
ministry said.
US producers are set to face the heavier duties - between
53.3 and 57 percent on solar-grade polysilicon - compared to the 2.4 to 48.7 percent being imposed on South Korean producers. A decision
on potential duties for EU polysilicon imports is
still pending, China says.
The US is “dismayed” over China’s decision, particularly
given that Beijing and Washington are already in talks regarding solar trade, a
spokesperson for the Office of the US Trade Representative told Reuters in
response to the news. The official also said that Washington plans to review
whether the duties are in line with Beijing’s WTO obligations.
The duties have also sparked questions among some Chinese
solar panel producers that rely on imports of polysilicon.
For example, Yingli Green, a Chinese solar panel
manufacturer, has said that these duties could potentially raise the costs of
domestic production.
In 2012, US, EU, and South Korean polysilicon products made up over 80 percent
of the supply for Chinese solar panel manufacturers.
Disagreements over renewable energy trade are not new for
Beijing and Washington, with both sides exchanging multiple accusations in
recent years over allegedly unfair trade practices in the sector. Last October,
the US Department of Commerce confirmed that it would be imposing its own
anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese solar panel producers, in a
move that was lambasted by Beijing.
China’s investigation into the alleged dumping of polysilicon by the US and South Korea was launched soon
after the provisional version of these duties was imposed in early 2012,
leading some industry officials to question whether the Beijing probe was a
response to the Washington agency’s decision.
Separately,
the EU and China are currently racing to come to an agreement over the alleged
dumping of Chinese solar panels before a 6 August deadline. Should the two
sides fail to reach a settlement by then, the 11.8 percent
average duties that the European Commission is currently imposing on Chinese
solar panels and their component parts are set to rise to 47 percent.
The potential solution on the table would involve “price
undertaking,” in which Chinese producers would agree not to sell these products
below an established minimum price. Brussels and Beijing have since been
haggling over what such a minimum price should be, and what annual quota should
be set, for these imports, with reports emerging on Wednesday that the two
sides may be close to resolving their differences on the subject.
China is currently the world’s largest producer of solar
panels, having experienced a huge expansion within the last five years in a bid
to be at the forefront of the renewable energy industry and achieve
self-sufficiency in the energy sector. The EU currently imports €21 billion in
Chinese solar panels, cells, and wafers a year.