China, US and EU all launch action over pricing of solar panel raw materials
China, the US and the EU have squared off over alleged anti-competitive practices in the pricing of raw materials for making solar panels
The Ministry of Commerce in Beijing has been asked to investigate European Union makers of solar panel raw materials for allegedly selling products at below-cost prices and benefiting from banned state subsidies.
The request came from four companies, Jiangsu Zhongneng Polysilicon Technology Development, LDK Silicon & Chemical Technology, China Silicon and Daqo New Energy, which account for 80 per cent of mainland polysilicon output. The development is seen as a "tit-for-tat" reaction to a call by European firms led by the German solar panel parts maker Solarworld for the EU to investigate their Chinese rivals over similar allegations.
Analysts said the issue was likely to be brought up by Chinese leaders when German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel visited Beijing late this month or early next month.
The EU will decide by mid-September whether to launch an investigation.
The recent developments come after the United States' decision in May to slap preliminary anti-dumping duties of between 31 per cent and 250 per cent on China's export of a component called a solar cell, and Beijing's retaliatory decision last month to start an investigation into US polysilicon exports.
The solar panel industry is highly internationalised, with firms in developed nations focusing on the technology-intensive manufacturing of polysilicon and the machinery used to make downstream materials including ingots, wafers, modules and cells.