The European Union launched an anti-dumping probe into Chinese solar panels on Thursday after an industry association claimed the products were being exported for less than it costs to make them.
The complaint, filed in July by a group of 25 producers of solar gear, including companies from Germany, Italy and Spain, is the biggest-ever anti-dumping claim filed with the EU.
China, the world’s largest producer of solar panels, accounts for about two-thirds of global production. It exported solar panels and associated key components worth around US$26.5 billion to the 27-nation bloc last year, the EU said in a statement.
Rivals accuse Chinese companies of selling their products to other markets at a price less than what they charge in China, operating at a loss in order to put competitors out of business.
Chinese manufacturers of solar – or photovoltaic – panels have denied this, noting that the industry is in the midst of a radical transition as the cost of such products drop.
In the United States, where a separate anti-dumping and anti-subsidy case has been under way for about a year, the coalition of American solar manufactures applauded the EU move.