Taking the heat off the solar dispute

The global solar photovoltaic (PV) products' sector faces a new challenge in the form of trade disputes between major producers and consumers. These disputes are quite testing, because there is a fine balance between creating a level playing field in the market and the need to make solar technology more affordable for the majority of the global population.

Following the recent imposition of 11.8 percent interim anti-dumping duty by the European Union on solar PV products imported from China, including panels, cells and wafers, the issue has become highly politicized between the two sides, among the EU member states and the key players of the solar PV industry.

Subsequently, the EU and China have held negotiations on "price undertakings", with the EU saying Chinese solar panels would be sold at a certain minimum price in the European market. These trade talks were initiated at the annual EU-China ministerial-level meeting of the joint economic and trade commission in Beijing on June 21. China's Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng and EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht co-chaired the talks, where trade issues, including the solar panel dispute, were discussed.