Following the lead of the US, the EU and China, India has announced July 18th as the preliminary hearing for its investigation into solar PV anti-dumping allegations. The investigation will look into manufacturers in China, Taiwan, USA and Malaysia.

Last year India's Solar Manufacturers Association petitioned the government to investigate its allegation that thin-film and silicon PV cells imported into India from the USA and other Asian countries were being sold at uncompetitive low prices, violating fair trade regulations, according to PV Tech.

India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry will begin the full investigation following the preliminary hearing and examine sales from 2011 to mid-2012 but also manages to include imports from 2008.

PV Tech was told by RESolve Energy Consultants that in the context of last year’s anti-dumping case between the US and China, the SMA has a viable case.

“Manufacturing in India has been severely affected by the modules imported from USA and China and most, if not all the manufacturers in India are operating at very low capacity utilization rates, between 10 percent and 30 percent affecting profitability and making the final module cost generally higher than competing modules,” said Hari Manoharan of RESolve Energy Consultants.

So concerned has India become over losing industry that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy recently announced a 75 percent requirement for locally manufactured goods for the second phase of the national solar mission.

July 08, 2013

Source: cleanbiz.asia