China solar firms oppose possible EU sanctions

The anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations launched by the European Commission into Chinese solar products have been a hot topic over the past three months. As it's getting closer for the commission to come up with a final ruling in June, players from both China and Europe are beefing up their efforts to lobby and negotiate.

In mid-April, Europe's Alliance for Affordable Solar Energy sent a public letter on behalf of some 700 solar companies to the EU Commissioner for Trade. It appealed against sanctions on Chinese solar products.

Recently, some Chinese solar producers came to Brussels to lobby and negotiate. They called on European authorities to deal with the current issue in an open and objective way, thus benefiting both sides.

"Trade frictions and disputes are quite normal. What matters is that the authorities should handle them in an objective and fair way. In this case, I think it's quite crucial to choose a proper third country. Otherwise, the decision will be biased", Colin Yang, Vice president of Trina Solar said.

China is accused of selling solar panel components to European consumers at prices below fair market value. But such complaint was filed by the SolarWorld-backed lobby group ProSun Glass. Companies pushing for the duties represent no more than three percent of the entire European solar sector.

Industry insiders insist sanctions would have far-reaching consequences not only on the Chinese market but also the European. Europe's downstream firms could face higher costs and may be forced to cut thousands of jobs.

China exported around $26 billion worth of solar power components to the eurozone in 2011. Chinese-manufactured solar products account for more than half of the global market and dominate Europe in terms of exports.