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EU to Investigate Taiwan's PV Makers in Possible Conspiracy

2014/08/25 | By Ken Liu

Taiwan's PV makers are under anti-circumvent investigations by EU. (Pictured is Taiwan-made solar cells.)
Taiwan's PV makers are under anti-circumvent investigations by EU. (Pictured is Taiwan-made solar cells.)
European Union (EU) has decided to investigate photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers from Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia to see if they had helped China's solar-panel makers evade price and quantity limits, by supplying solar cells, it imposes on China's exports.

Taiwanese manufacturers fear being penalized with tariffs of over 47.6% on exports to EU upon being found guilty of conspiracy.

The investigations come after China's solar-panel makers began diverting cell orders to Taiwan from other suppliers after EU's trade authorities last year imposed on China-to-EU exports maximum quantity and minimum price restrictions, which replace anti-dumping and anti-subsidy taxes against China's manufacturers.

To circumvent such restrictions, China's solar-panel manufacturers have been shipping products from contract suppliers in Taiwan and other Asian nations.

The investigation was launched at the request of Solarworld AG, a major German solar-panel producer, which said that it faces unfair competition from Chinese companies that avoid anti-dumping duties by assembling panels from solar cells produced elsewhere, especially Taiwan.

Taiwan's solar-industry executives say that the island's manufacturers will accelerate out-migration plans to skirt the punitive taxes imposed by EU and the United States, with the latter having recently ruled to impose anti-dumping taxes of 27.59-44.1% on Taiwan-to- U.S. exports.

Both EU and the United States are major export destinations for Taiwan's PV industry, which is the world's No.2 in terms of output. (KL)