China anti-dumping investigation against US, South Korea polysilicon suppliers would hurt local downstream players

28/05/2012 12:00 - 435 Views

Mainly due to the imposition of anti-dumping tariffs by the US on China-made solar cells, China-based polysilicon makers have urged the China government to launch anti-dumping investigations on imported polysilicon supplied from US- and South Korea-based makers.

If the investigation leads to duties on importing polysilicon from other countries, the price of polysilicon in China will increase which will benefit China-based material providers. However, downstream firms are likely to struggle with higher production costs.

According to industry sources, China has been importing large amounts of polysilicon from the US and South Korea. Since the US government announced preliminary anti-dumping duties against China-based solar firms, China is likely to retaliate against US- and South Korea-based polysilicon firms for dumping. Industry sources added that if Europe takes up similar investigations, China will also respond with an investigation on Europe-based solar firms.

China's imports of polysilicon have been increasing annually despite the low demand in the solar market since 2011. Lack of competitiveness has caused many polysilicon firms in China to shut down production and file for bankruptcy.

Friday 25 May 2012

By Nuying Huang and Jackie Chang

Source: digitimes.com