Tag Archives: china

Solar-Powered Showdown

Posted on June 17, 2013 | Leave a comment

The European Union announced Tuesday that it is imposing anti-dumping levies on imports of Chinese solar panels, in a move that could trigger a trade war between two of the world’s largest economies.

EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said the 27-nation bloc will impose a tariff of about 12 percent on the import of solar panels, cells and wafers from this week, increasing it to an average of 47 percent in August unless a settlement is reached with China in the next 60 days.

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China, the world’s largest producer of solar panels, is accused by the EU of selling them below-cost — a tactic known as dumping — to corner the market. Its exports of solar panels to Europe totaled 21 billion euros ($27.5 billion) in 2011.

The cheap Chinese products are flooding the market and threaten to bring down EU manufacturers, De Gucht said in Brussels, Belgium.

According to EU calculations, a fair sale price for Chinese solar panels should be 88 percent higher than what they are being sold for.

“It has the potential to destroy an important industry in Europe if we don’t act today,” he added, noting that more than 20,000 jobs in Europe are at stake.

China rejects the EU’s price-dumping allegations. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang warned last month imposing punitive tariffs would hurt European consumers and might encourage trade protectionism — although he stopped short of threatening retaliation.

The EU is China’s second-biggest business partner after the U.S. Solar panel exports in 2011 stood for about 7 percent of China’s total exports to the EU.

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Solar Panels from China Could Face Tariffs

Posted on March 24, 2012 | Leave a comment

The U.S. Commerce Department plans to slap import tariffs on Chinese-made solar cells in a trade dispute that has strained relations between the two countries and divided the American solar power industry.

The tariffs, proposed Tuesday, follow complaints that the Chinese government has given its solar companies an unfair advantage in the international race to dominate the industry, supplying low-cost loans and land for new factories.

Those factories have swamped the global market with cheap solar cells, slashing the price by 60 percent last year and driving competitors out of business. Three U.S. solar companies, including Fremont’s Solyndra, plunged into bankruptcy in 2011.

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Pollution Fuels Outrage in China

Posted on December 17, 2011 | Leave a comment

BEIJING — The statement posted online along with a photograph of central Beijing muffled in a miasma of brown haze did not mince words: “The end of the world is imminent.”

The ceaseless churning of factories and automobile engines in and around Beijing has led to this: hundreds of flights canceled since Sunday because of smog, stores sold out of face masks, and many Chinese complaining on the Internet that officials are failing to level with them about air quality or make any improvements to the environment.

Chronic pollution in Beijing, temporarily scrubbed clean for the 2008 Summer Olympics, has made people angry for a long time, but the disruptions it causes to daily life are now raising questions about the economic cost, and the government’s ability to ensure the safety of the population.

Read article: http://www.theledger.com/article/20111206/ZNYT04/112063029/1023/life02?template=printpicart