Glass for Europe, an association made up of Europe’s flat glass manufacturers, has issued a statement related to the European Commission’s (EC) anti-subsidy investigation into imports of solar glass from China. In the statement, the association calls on the EC to “impose measures on solar glass imports originating from China with a view to restoring fair competition and to allow the European Union (EU) solar glass industry to continue to develop sustainably and make available innovative solar glass products.”
"Alongside the solar panels cases, these investigations into solar glass illustrate the fundamental disruptions to the overall solar value-chain caused by unfair and harmful trade practices by Chinese producers typically dependent upon unduly generous financial and economic support of Chinese States bodies and other related entities,” writes the group. “The outcome of the trade investigations will send an important signal to Europe’s manufacturing industries in respect of the credibility of the EU’s re-industrialization objective as well as Europe’s will to ensure that European-based industries are given the opportunity to benefit from the transition towards a competitive low carbon economy.”
The statement continues, “The EU industry has suffered and continues to suffer from the injurious trade practices by Chinese producers and has drastically reduced production and undertaken severe restructuring programs at a number of their European manufacturing facilities.”
The association also points to a recent decision by the EC “to impose substantial provisional duties on Chinese imports of solar panels into the EU” as an indicator of the seriousness of the issue.
“This decision and the level of duties illustrate the scale of disruption to the whole solar value-chain by injurious dumping practices from state-supported Chinese manufacturers,” writes the group.
Glass for Europe is made up of AGC Glass Europe, NSG-Group, Saint-Gobain Glass and Sisecam-Trakya Cam and works in association with Guardian.
The EC began its anti-subsidy investigation into imports of solar glass from China in April, based on a complaint filed by another association, EU ProSun Glass. EU ProSun Glass claims solar glass from China is being subsidized in China and then sold in the EU at prices below market value and is causing material injury to the EU solar glass industry.
The EC began a related anti-dumping investigation in February.
