Anti-dumping disputes bite into China’s solar export market

BEIJING - China’s exports of solar power equipment fell 10% to US$14 billion in 2016 from a year earlier, driven in part by continued friction with countries that have conducted anti-dumping measures against Chinese solar producers, an industry expert said. It is the first year-on-year drop the sector has seen since 2013.

Countries and regions that include the U.S., the European Union, Australia, India, Canada and Turkey have carried out anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations on Chinese-made solar goods worth US$25 billion, said Zhang Sen, Secretary General of the solar division of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Exports of Machinery and Electronic Products.

The U.S. has been conducting investigations since 2011, and charged some Chinese crystalline silicon solar battery makers tariffs of up to 238.95% after the latest round of scrutiny in 2016, Caixin reported. This was only slightly lower than a 249.96% tariff rate seen previously.

Zhang said he expected trade disputes to continue in 2017, especially given the anti-China stance of new U.S. President Donald Trump, and this was likely to have an influence on the solar sector as well. www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).