Europe's leading solar trade body the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) has backed recent efforts by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to liberalize trade in environmental goods and services.
The EPIA's CEO James Watson wrote this week that mutually agreed settlements are much more efficient than punitive tariff introduction, as the trade body calls for free and fair trade between bilateral trading partners.
Current negotiations between the WTO, its member countries and various industry bodies center on an environmental goods agreement designed to erode the tendency for the solar industry to impose tariffs on products imported from overseas.
The EPIA's Watson argues that trade liberalization would spur growth in the solar industry and "enable a price reduction of environmental goods, including solar panels" that would stimulate business opportunities throughout the value chain.
Recent disputes between the U.S., China and Taiwan have echoed previous trade spats that arose between the EU and China, with India also recently exploring the possibility of introducing anti-dumping tariffs in order to protect its domestic solar industry. However, Watson affirms that the EPIA's preferred stance is one of negotiated agreements between bilateral trading partners, calling this approach the "most effective way" of dealing with disputes and supporting free trade.
"Punitive tariffs are not in the interest of the European solar industry and are not the right way to go for ensuring growth in the solar sector," Watson added.
The WTO is seeking an alternative to the current tit-for-tat approach. EPIA stresses that, while uncertainty around how that alternative may take shape abounds, global industry cooperation and dialogue is the only viable path for solar's growth, in Europe and beyond.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.