Duties hurt interests of both sides: MOFCOM
China on Saturday called on the European Union (EU) to scrap two sets of tariffs, anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures imposed on Chinese photovoltaic (PV) exports, with the EU due to launch a review into whether to renew the measures.
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said in a statement Saturday that renewal of the tariffs would harm both China's and the EU's interests and said it hoped the measures can be terminated as soon as possible to "safeguard" China-EU trade relations.
The European Commission, the EU's executive body, announced on Saturday that it would launch an expiry review of the anti-dumping and countervailing measures applicable to imports of PV modules and key components from China.
The partial interim review will consider whether or not it is in the EU's interest to maintain the measures that are currently in force, the commission said in a statement Saturday.
The current measures set a minimum price and quota for EU imports of PV products from China. They were due to expire on Monday, but will remain in effect as the review, which could last for 15 months, was initiated following requests from EU producers.
The commission said EU ProSun, a group representing solar-panel producers accounting for more than 25 percent of the EU's PV production, lodged requests for the review "on the grounds that the expiry of the measures would be likely to result in continuation of subsidization and recurrence of injury to [EU] industry."
China and the EU went through a series of disputes after the latter launched anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations into solar panel imports from China in 2012.
The two parties reached an agreement on the current measures in late 2013 following numerous rounds of high-level consultations, according to the EU and MOFCOM.
An official with MOFCOM's Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau said in Saturday's statement that the implementation of the agreed measures have been relatively "smooth."
Analysts said the EU is likely to maintain the trade measures against Chinese PV products, but noted that it will not have a major impact on the Chinese solar industry.
"Having the EU market would be great, but without it Chinese companies will also do well," said Shen Fuxin, secretary-general of the Zhejiang Solar Energy Industry Association.
Chinese solar-panel makers are benefiting from a booming domestic market, while continuing to expand into overseas markets, Shen told the Global Times Saturday.
Shen also noted that the EU solar market is declining due to the slow recovery in the region's overall economy.
According to MOFCOM, the EU's PV installed capacity dropped significantly to 7 GW in 2014, compared with 24 GW in 2012, and its share of the world's total capacity fell to 14.5 percent from 74 percent.
Employment in the solar panel industry in the region has also declined substantially, and the use of clean energy has slowed, according to MOFCOM, partly because of large cuts in subsidies by EU member countries and the minimum price restrictions for imports.
With such trade measures to limit imports of cheap but good-quality PV products, "the losses outweigh the gains" for the EU, Shen said.
Though China's overall exports to the EU have declined in recent months because of the sluggish economy there, "disputes" in one industry will not affect the overall trade relations between China and the EU, Lin Guijun, vice president of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, told the Global Times Saturday.
"The overall trade ties between China and the EU are generally positive," Lin said, noting that cooperation in other areas such as food, autos and high-tech is getting stronger as the EU eyes the vast Chinese market for such areas.
"We should not be too sensitive about one sector," Lin said.
