Talks between the European Commission (EC) and Chinese authorities in Beijing ended their second week with rumoured reports of China offering a bottom cost per-watt and a cap on total shipments to avoid duties being applied on Chinese PV products on 6 August 2013.
This is the first time rumoured details over ongoing talks have been leaked.
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China's Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, which is responsible for negotiating a deal with the EC, was reported to have said the talks were going well and that a settlement was still expected.
The rumoured offer from the Chinese centered on a cost-per-watt floor of €0.50 and an annual cap on shipments into the EU of 10GW. Chinese module producers not complying would be fined, according to reports.
However, the leaked details of what the Chinese are offering and the direction of talks down this path have angered ProSun, the group behind the initial petition to the EC to investigate its anti-dumping claims.
“If press reports are true, the Chinese government shows it is not seriously interested in a negotiated solution. China insults Europe with a volume cap that might even exceed the entire EU market, at prices below the Chinese cost of production and transport. It is a smack in the face of the Europeans who have made every attempt to reach an amicable solution,” said Milan Nitzschke, president of EU ProSun.
According to Nitzschke, China is wasting time and needs to offer a “serious proposal” to avoid the automatic increase in duties in August. ProSun is not involved in the talks.
Initially, talks were expected by many industry observers to focus on the EC negotiating a lower level of duty to be paid on imported solar products than originally released, which would average 47.6%.
