According to foreign media reports, on November 29, 425 European companies in the photovoltaic industry urged the EU not to launch a trade investigation that could lead to tariffs on imported solar products.
This Friday, the European Union will hold a meeting to discuss the strategy of revitalizing the European photovoltaic manufacturing industry, and this initiative may have an impact on the outcome of the meeting. "We are receiving worrying signals ahead of Friday's industry roundtable to announce a trade barrier investigation," said Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO
of SolarPower Europe. She said that this is contrary to our goal of revitalizing the European photovoltaic manufacturing industry. The European Solar Industry Association, which
launched the initiative, said the signatories included 18 manufacturers and 28 national associations and research institutes, as well as some practitioners. Everyone agrees that tariffs should not apply to imported photovoltaic (PV) products.
These companies and institutions believe that imposing tariffs on imported solar products will hinder the progress of the EU in achieving its photovoltaic installed capacity and hinder the growth of the industry.
At present, the EU's goal is to achieve 30 GW photovoltaic installed capacity by 2025 and 600 GW installed capacity by 2030, while reducing dependence on imported photovoltaic products, especially from China.
However, the Digital New Energy DataBM. Com has noted that there are serious differences among European photovoltaic associations.
In response to the launch of the initiative, the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC), another prominent European lobbying organisation, pointed out that the practice had a hugely damaging effect on legislation. Not
long ago, the two associations went head-to-head in the EU Net Zero Act. The bill calls for restricting the use of technology outside the European Union for bidding projects and aims to achieve 40% of photovoltaic modules produced locally in Europe by 2030.
The European Solar Industry Association argued that the bill would prevent Europe from achieving its climate development goals on time, while the European Solar Manufacturing Commission said the bill was "fully" in the interests of the European industry.
At present, 13% of the members of the European Solar Energy Association are Chinese companies, and the latter is just three years old, aiming to protect European photovoltaic supply from the threat posed by Chinese-made modules.