During a recent visit with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly discussed the ongoing conflict over Chinese manufacturers' dumping of low-priced solar products into other markets.
Merkel called for negotiations between China and Western nations, according to the Wall Street Journal. Her take on the conflict was interpreted as a negative for SolarWorld and other European companies that are seeking to have tariffs imposed on Chinese solar modules.
SolarWorld and unnamed partners in the EU Pro Sun coalition filed a complaint with the European Commission last month, requesting that duties be imposed on Chinese solar modules imported into Europe.
In the U.S., the Department of Commerce ruled in May that it would impose anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese solar modules. A similar outcome is considered unlikely in Europe, where the bar is raised higher for determining whether China has illegally subsidized and dumped its solar products, according to a July report from market research firm IHS.
