Chinese solar firms excluded from EU&#39;s minimum price undertaking

Chinese photovoltaic manufacturers AE Solar and Wuxi Saijing have been excluded from the European Commission's minimum price undertaking and have been slapped with anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties, according to the European Union Official Gazette. Both firms had invoices that were declared invalid, while AE Solar had provided incomplete quarterly sales reports. In addition, Wuxi Saijing had entered into an agreement with an independent importer before the minimum price undertaking came into effect, allowing it to sell solar modules under minimum import prices in Europe. It also broke the rules by conducting compensation transactions.

The European Commission (EC) has decided to exclude Chinese PV manufacturers AE Solar and Wuxi Saijing from the minimum price undertaking for the import of solar modules from China, according to a document published in the EU Official Gazette on Wednesday.

The EC said that AE Solar has provided incomplete quarterly reports on its sales, while Wuxi Saijing has set up a trading system with an independent importer, which has allowed the company to sell the solar modules under minimum import prices in Europe after the entry into force of the undertaking. Furthermore, Wuxi Saijing has conducted compensation transactions with the customer, thus circumventing the rules. This would have been confirmed by customs investigations.

The two Chinese solar manufacturers were not able to provide evidence against the allegations, the EC said. Some invoices of AE Solar and even more of Wuxi Saijing were declared invalid by Brussels authorities. The custom authorities were instructed to impose antidumping and anti-subsidy duties on the companies.

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Currently, the EC is conducting a mid-term review of the undertaking, which is expected to investigate the gradual mitigation of the antidumping and anti-subsidy measures over the next 18 months. In July, the Commission had proposed a new mechanism for establishing the minimum import price for solar cells and solar modules manufactured in China. It proposed a timetable on how prices should fall by September 2018. A final settlement is currently being discussed. This should be announced in the autumn.