The European Commission has launched an anti-subsidy investigation into imports of solar panels and their key components (including solar cells and solar wafers) originating in China.
Industry association EU ProSun claimed in a September complaint filed with the commission that solar panels and their key components imported from China benefit from unfair government subsidies. In 2011, China exported solar panels and their key components worth approximately 21 billion euros to the EU, the commission says.
The new investigation is expected to take approximately 13 months. Provisional anti-subsidy duties may be applied within nine months, provided that the investigators find evidence of illegal subsidization of Chinese producers.
The commission began an anti-dumping investigation last month.
