European solar and renewable energy organisations have sent a letter to the European Commission asking it to eliminate the tariffs on Chinese solar panels and cells.
The letter to EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom calls for an end to what it describes as punitive trade measures, the SolarPower Europe lobby group said.
The 34 organisations, representing over 1.3m European jobs and more than 120,000 European companies, believe that the measures are having a negative impact on the local solar industry.
Trade duties for Chinese imports have been in place since December 2013, alongside a minimum import price agreement.
The Commission has to make a recommendation on the measures, which is subject to the approval from member states, in early 2017.
“This is an overwhelming show of support from organisations across the EU working in solar,” SolarPower Europe chief executive James Watson said.
“The measures have been in place for more than 3 years without any real benefit to the European solar industry. We need a better, more specific approach to support module producers in Europe.”
Image: sxc
Industry targets Chinese solar tax
Commission must make a recommendation on the tariffs in early 2017
By EBS