SolarPower Europe says German solar trade tariffs “not the solution” to price drops

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
SolarPower Europe’s headquarters are in Brussels. Image: SolarPower Europe

The German government is considering the possibility of imposing trade barriers on Chinese-imported solar modules and components to Europe, a move that has been met with concern by trade body SolarPower Europe.

Reported alongside considerations of subsidies and state aid, according to news agency Reuters, the notion of trade barriers follows an open letter from the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) calling for the EU to protect European manufacturers against “intentional and purposeful attack by Chinese PV manufacturers” in the form of an influx of cheap products that undercut European prices and force them down.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

In the letter, the ESMC explicitly said that Chinese manufacturers had adopted a “dumping stance” over Europe but did not call for trade barriers or US-style tariffs.

Instead, it outlined ‘carrot’ tactics like incentives to buy domestic products and a sanctioned acquisition of European stock to counteract the forced price decreases from Chinese competitors. It also called for a ban on selling modules associated with forced labour, predominantly from Xinjiang, China.

Representative trade body SolarPower Europe also called for measures to protect the price of solar PV, which it said had fallen 25% in recent months and resulted in “concrete risks” for European manufacturers.

Germany is the first European country to officially look into protectionist measures for the solar manufacturing industry.

In response to its announcement, SolarPower Europe said that: “Trade barriers are not the solution. As history has shown, investigating and implementing trade barriers on solar is the ultimate lose-lose strategy for Europe.”

Instead, it called for measures to reward and incentivise the solar manufacturing industry. Specifically:

  • “Adjust the EU State Aid framework (the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework) to allow Member States to support running costs of factories – i.e. opex
  • Allow for specific resilience auctions within Member States under a swiftly-adopted EU Net-Zero Industry Act
  • Set up an EU-level financing instrument dedicated to European produced solar PV, like a Solar Manufacturing Bank”.

“We need diverse, sustainable and resilient solar supply chains,” said SolarPower Europe president  Aristotelis Chantavas. “Trade barriers are not the way to do that. We urge EU leaders to deliver and implement an industrial strategy for solar, as clear, and ambitious as the US IRA. There are balanced, effective measures ready to go.”

Gunter Erfurt, board director at SolarPower Europe added: “Instead of sanctioning the entire industry through tariffs, we must incentivise solar installations that originate from resilient European solar production. This way, the deployment of solar energy can continue undisturbed while the European solar manufacturing can grow steadily.”

Whether or not a European manufacturing renaissance occurs is yet to be seen; the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the US has created meaningful incentives for companies to set up shop in on US soil, and the European Union’s Green Deal plan has yet to reach the same level.

Any trade barriers or incentives from Germany would likely need to be approved by the European Commission, the Reuters report said.

2 December 2025
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2026. PV ModuleTech Europe 2025 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.
10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

Premium
June 9, 2025
N-type polysilicon prices have dropped to RMB34,000/ton as the project installation rush ends, putting cost pressure on the industrial chain.
June 9, 2025
Sonnedix has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Renfe to supply 420GWh of renewable energy annually for its commercial operations.
June 9, 2025
Growing political headwinds threaten to dent US solar manufacturing and project deployment, despite a strong start to 2025.
June 6, 2025
Eternal Sun has acquired German solar simulator provider Wavelabs, which has resulted in the formation of a new subsidy, Wavelabs Eternal Sun.
Premium
June 6, 2025
Europe must secure the 'strategic segments' of the solar supply chain, according to experts at a PV Tech panel at this year's Intersolar event.
June 6, 2025
Australia’s Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has called on Australia’s climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, to “urgently intervene” on a rule change that could threaten to derail the uptake of rooftop solar PV.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
June 17, 2025
Napa, USA
Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece