Prognos: duties on Chinese solar panels will cost thousands of jobs

If the EU imposes tariffs on cheap imported solar panels from China thousands of jobs will go, claims a report by European think tank Prognos. Across Europe, up to 242,000 jobs could be lost if 60 per cent duty were imposed on the imported panels, estimates the study funded by the Alliance for Solar Energy, a coalition of solar companies.

The European commission is investigating whether solar panels from China are being sold below market value – known as "dumping" – and benefiting from unfair Chinese government subsidies. The EU reacts to complaints from European solar manufacturers and the move could lead to anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties being imposed on Chinese-made panels to stop the cheap imports harming Europe's domestic industry. But the Prognos report published suggests imposing any level of tariff would hit the EU economy and jobs would be lost, as the move would push up photovoltaic panel prices and reduce the installation of the green electricity technology.

(03|2013) Source: Guardian