Milan Nitzschke, EU ProSun President said anti-dumping measures taken against Chinese manufacturers had only had a limited effect and that overcapacity in the country was once again damaging the prospects of European manufacturers. “For five years now, we have been complaining about massive dumping by Chinese solar producers in the EU,” said Nitzschke. “We have had more than 100 insolvencies and factory closures in the European solar industry ever since.”
Nitzschke noted that China's PV manufacturing capacity was 1.3 times the size of the global market and that recent measures taken by the Chinese government to curb PV demand had resulted in continued dumping in Europe.
Nitzschke's comments are at odds with reports from within the Chinese PV market, that 1H 2017 domestic demand had been robust. In contrast to 2H 2016, cell and module prices have also not fallen sharply in this period.
“In principle dumping acts like doping,” Nitzschke's statement continued. “Only doping is detrimental to sporting competition, but dumping is causing massive damage to the economy, costing jobs, and ultimately enabling monopolies.”
EU ProSun said it would continue to “promote fair conditions in the European solar market and maintain the technical know-how of Germany and Europe.”
pv magazine has contacted SolarPower Europe for comment. The industry association opposes tariffs on Chinese modules.
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