The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) has hardened its stance against solar trade defence duties by joining the SETI Alliance.
Membership of SETI, which campaigns for the removal of trade barriers for environmental goods, comes just weeks after EPIA announced it was abandoning its neutral status in the EU-China trade dispute.
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The group had previously sat on the fence but said it would support the removal of trade defence duties on Chinese products at the SNEC exhibition in Shanghai.
“We are delighted to join the SETI Alliance, re-affirming our commitment to taking a much more pro-active role in the trade issues that impact our sector in Europe,” said James Watson, CEO of EPIA. “We recently launched a trade taskforce for the WTO Environmental Goods Agreement and this will now work closely with the SETI Alliance.”
In addition to campaigning on trade defence issues, SETI is also pushing for international free trade of environmental goods.
“Being one of the leading solar trade associations in the world, EPIA complements the strong support from other clean technologies to the cause of seeking an international environmental trade agreement securing free green trade worldwide,” said Peter C. Brun, managing director, SETI Alliance.
The EU's current punitive tariffs against Chinese imports expire in December, but the original complainant, EU ProSun, has requested a review guaranteeing the status quo for more than a year.