The European Commission has initiated an anti-subsidy investigation into imports of solar glass from China.
The complaint was lodged by EU ProSun Glass, led by GMB Glasmanufaktur Brandenburg, which claims solar glass from China is being subsidised in China and then sold in the EU at prices below market value and causing material injury to the EU solar glass industry.
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EU ProSun Glass is not affiliated with the original EU ProSun that filed anti-dumping and countervailing claims against Chinese cell and module manufacturers last year. The commission said EU ProSun Glass’ complaint was a “stand-alone investigation concerning a clearly distinct product”.
EU ProSun Glass claims to represent at least 25% of the European glass manufacturing industry, required by EU law to trigger a trade investigation. The commission said the complainant had brought sufficient evidence of possible subsidies provided by the government of China and injury suffered by the industry as a result to warrant the opening of an investigation.
The European Commission will send out questionnaires to various interested parties, such as exporting producers, EU producers, importers and associations for information relating to the exports, production, sales and imports of solar glass, to establish if subsidisation has taken place and whether the injury claimed is a result of the subsidised imports.
In addition, the commission will consider whether the potential imposition of measures would be more costly to the EU economy as a whole than the benefit of the measures would be to the complainants.
The European Council is legally obliged to take a final decision on the imposition of any definitive measures within 13 months of the investigation being started, before 26 May 2014. The final findings will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
A separate anti-dumping investigation into imports of solar glass from China is currently ongoing, initiated on 28 February 2013 by EU ProSun Glass.
