Amicable solution founded in the EU-China solar panels case

Dear Members, Dear Friends,

The China Italy Chamber of Commerce would like to inform you on the amicable solution founded between EU and China in the solar panels case, following the imposition of provisional anti-dumping duties on EU imports of solar panels from China on 6 June. 

After weeks of intensive talks, China’s solar panels exporters submitted an offer of a price undertaking which finally satisfied EU’s trade defence legislation standards.

Price undertaking is an alternative form of a duty measure, permitted by WTO an EU laws.

In this case, the duty is replaced by a price undertaking based on a minimum import price. This commitment made by Chinese exporters is not meant to fix prices at specific levels, rather to prevent them from falling below a certain floor price.

Those exporting Chinese companies participating in the price-undertaking will be subject to its terms. Hence, their exports will be exempted from the anti-dumping duties.

EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht is confident that this amicable solution “will remove the injury that the dumping practices have caused to the European industry” and it "will result in a new equilibrium on the European solar panel market at a sustainable price level".

This alternative measure intended to strike a balance between two key elements: it permits to remove the injurious dumping found and allows at the same time for a stable solar panel supply to the EU market.

Thanks to all these factors, De Gucht is led to conclude : "This is the amicable solution that both the EU and China were looking for".

The undertaking arrangement is now under review by EU Commission to be formally approved.

Thanks for your attention.

CICC