China has settled the trade dispute with the European Union (EU), allowing European companies to compete in the Chinese solar power market, according to a news report in UPI.
EU’s trade commissioner Karel De Gucht said both sides settled a long-standing dispute over a “trade irritant” involving polysilicon, a component used in the production of solar panels.
“With this agreement, our industry will be able to pursue its operations in China where there is a substantial demand for high quality polysilicon,” Gucht said in a statement.
The agreement follows the anti-dumping probe initiated by China in 2012 against German polysilicon producer Wacker Chemie. The settlement was reached between the German company and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
Germany-based Wacker Chemie reportedly increased its market share in China from 25 percent in 2012 to almost 33 percent in 2013.
“The agreed solution is in the best interests of both Wacker and China’s solar industry,” Rudolf Staudigl, the company’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Chinese-manufactured solar products account for more than half of the global market and are a main source of European imports of renewable energy goods. In the past, China was accused of selling solar power components to the European community at below market price.
picture source: theguardian