End of EU solar panel tariffs hailed

THE European Union will end restrictions on the sale of solar panels from China tomorrow with the European Commission, which coordinates EU trade policy, saying that the measures would expire at midnight today.

China’s commerce ministry welcomed the end of restrictions, describing the move as a “model for successfully resolving trade frictions through consultations.”

The move “will restore EUChina trade of photovoltaics to a normal market condition, will provide a more stable and predictable business environment for cooperation between the two sides’ industries, and will truly realize mutual benefit for both sides,” the ministry said in a statement on its website.

The commission said it was in the best interests of the EU as a whole for the measures to lapse, given the bloc’s aim of increasing its supply of renewable energy. The measures had also decreased over time, allowing import prices to align with market prices.

Disregarding opposition from a majority of the EU member states the commission first imposed the tariffs on Chinese solar panels in 2013 and extended them by 18 months in March last year. As a result, EU consumers had to pay a premium over global prices because of the tariffs.

Five years later, the interest of consumers — including importers, installers and users — has prevailed, as the commission said in its statement last Friday that it “wanted to ensure that EU consumers could buy panels at prices close to the world-market level.”

Higher tariffs also create lessobvious losers. If solar panel prices are not attractively low for citizens and businesses to adopt the clean technology, the EU’s target to reduce emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030 could be hard to attain.

The latest decision “also takes into account the EU’s new renewable energy targets,” the commission said, implying that solar panel producers in China could be of help in this regard.

For years, one of the most overlooked contributions that China has made to the global climate action is bringing down renewable energy prices, and Brussels’ decision should also serve as a reminder to Washington and other capitals across the world.

With innovation, hard work and willingness to take risk, Chinese manufacturers have lowered the costs of products from solar panels to electric bikes, thus improving availability and affordability of clean energy for both domestic and international consumers.

SolarPower Europe, which represents importers and installers, described the move as a “watershed moment” for Europe’s solar industry and that it removes the biggest barrier to growth of the sector.

The EU has faced a delicate balancing act between the interests of EU manufacturers and those such as importers and installers pressing for a reduction in the cost of solar power generation. The total EU market is about 7 gigawatts.

It has also been concerned about the response from Beijing, given that the two sides were on the verge of a trade war over the issue in 2013.

EU ProSun, the grouping of EU producers that launched the initial complaint in 2012 and wanted a further extension of measures, had said that European manufacturers would be devastated if the measures ended.