The international trade dispute between solar panel manufacturers has escalated with a complaint by the Chinese government to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over commercial practices in the EU.
China alleges that Italy and Greece have unfairly favoured domestic solar panel suppliers and therefore are in breach of WTO rules.
The complaint follows the launch of an investigation into Chinese solar panel manufacturers by the European Commission following a formal complaint by a European industry association.
Chinese firms exporting solar panels to the USA now face significant trade tariffs there after an investigation by US authorities into trade practises in China.
The complaint by Chinese firms centres around the provision of higher electricity prices in Italy and Greece for solar power producers that use locally sourced components. Chinese press quoted China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang as saying that such payments “seriously affect Chinese exports and harm China’s rightful interests as a WTO member”.
China is the world’s largest producer of solar panels and the EU is its largest export market. A fall in demand for solar energy products coupled with a huge oversupply in the market have caused solar panel prices to tumble and resulted in financial difficulties for many European and US manufacturers as well as trade tensions.
Manufacturers in both the USA and the EU believe that Chinese solar panel makers have ‘dumped’ their goods on the market at low prices in order to capture market share and disrupt the commercial viability of other firms.
In October Solyndra, the bankrupt US solar firm, filed a lawsuit against several Chinese solar panel manufacturing firms alleging that they colluded to destroy Solyndra’s commercial position.
