The Chinese solar power industry is facing more trouble ahead as German solar panel parts maker Solarworld may follow the US Department of Commerce's ruling last week — which slapped an anti-dumping tariff of up to 250% on solar products — to file for an antidumping and ant-subsidy lawsuit in the EU.

In April, the US Department of Commerce imposed a punitive antidumping tariff of 2.9%-4.73% on solar power products imported from China after the WTO ruled that the country's solar industry received illegal subsidies from the government so that they were able to sell their products in the US below fair market price.

On May 17, the department said it will levy anti-dumping duties from 31.14%-249.96% on 61 Chinese solar-cell and panel makers and on their products produced over the past six months, dealing a blow to the Chinese solar industry and virtually eliminating their cost advantage, reported the Commercial Times, our Chinese-language sister newspaper.


The US rulings will lead to similar antidumping and antisubsidy investigations in Europe, which may terminate the Chinese solar industry's future in Europe, said Xiao Han, a researcher at the Chinese research firm CIConsulting, adding that German solar company Solarworld AG has already said it will file asimilar complaint in Europe this year.

The German company is not likely to find allies in Europe as it did in the US, said Henning Wicht, chief analyst of US market researcher HIS. Its US division formed the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing with six other US solar companies to request that the government impose duties on Chinese solar companies, according to EurActiv, a media portal for EU policies. Wicht also said the EU is unlikely to conduct similar antidumping and antisubsidy investigation on Chinese imports.

China's market share in the global solar industry increased by 470% and has become the world's third largest solar producer, according to an annual report from research institution NPD Solarbuzz. Around 80% of the US$30.5 billion of solar products exported in 2010 were sold in Europe. If the EU follows US rulings to impose tariffs on solar imports from China, many Chinese solar companies may be forced to shut down.