India rejects solar anti-dumping duties

The Indian government has decided against imposing duties on Chinese, Taiwanese, US and Malaysian solar manufacturers.

The ministry of commerce had recommend duties of up to US$0.81/W for Chinese firms, but after consideration, the finance ministry has rejected the duties. A deadline of 22 August had been set but was allowed to pass without the introduction of punitive trade tariffs.

Thin-film manufacturer First Solar would have faced US$0.11/W with US silicon-based panels be subject to US$0.48/W duties.

Malaysian manufacturers were facing US$0.62/W and Taiwanese firms US$0.59/W.

The case had been brought by a group of Indian module manufacturers but project developers and analysts were concerned that the domestic capacity would not be able to match the industry’s demands.

Deepak Verma managing director of developer, nv vogt said limiting solar’s potential in the country would be “like taking away [Indian consumer’s] right to light, to energy”.

According to the World Bank, one in four people in India have no access to electricity.