Days after reports that the European Commission has agreed to impose import tariffs on Chinese solar products, EU ProSun maintains that such anti-dumping duties will have a positive effect on Europe's solar sector.
Citing a new study by Pricewaterhouscoopers (PwC), the coalition says a recent Prognos report is ‘misleading’ and tariffs will help protect domestic solar jobs and activity.
‘If the European Commission acts now against illegal dumping by Chinese solar manufacturers, this industry can survive and prosper,’ says Milan Nitzschke, president of EU ProSun." If the EU does not act, EU ProSun predicts a Chinese solar monopoly with disastrous consequences for European manufacturers, suppliers and customers."
EU ProSun, a coalition of European solar manufacturers led by Germany-based SolarWorld, filed a complaint with the European Commission in July 2012 claiming that Chinese solar firms were dumping their products in the EU at below-market prices.
Last month, Dober Partners, a consultant to EU ProSun, tapped PwC to analyze a recent study by Prognos. According to the coalition, the PwC report refutes Prognos' claims that trade measures on Chinese solar products would lead to job losses in the EU.
"The Prognos study contains major flaws in methodology and content, as well as contradictory evidence," says Wolfgang Nothhelfer, author of the PwC study." The U.S. imposed tariffs on photovoltaic products in 2012. As in Europe, a study commissioned on the possible effects of tariffs forecast an alarming crash of demand and job losses in the U.S.
"However, after the introduction of tariffs, demand increased and 14,000 new solar jobs were created," continues Nothhelfer." We should not believe alarming studies which are based on vague data and questionable assumptions. Indeed, it is reasonable to conclude that the introduction of tariffs will have a net positive effect on employment in Europe.’
