EU imports face dumping probe

　　The four firms, Jiangsu Zhongneng Polysilicon Technology Development Company, Jiangxi-based LDK Solar, Henan-based China Silicon Corp and Chongqing-based Daqo New Energy Corp, which together account for 80 percent of China's polysilicon products, a major raw material used to produce solar panels, filed the petition with the MOC.

　　The ministry announced on July 20 that it would launch anti-dumping and countervailing investigations into polysilicon imports from the US and anti-dumping investigation into polysilicon products imported from South Korea, following a petition filed by the same four firms.

　　China imported 9,286 tons of polysilicon products from the EU in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 30.8 percent, but the average price dropped 47.46 percent to $27.53 per kilogram, according to the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association.

　　"The price is noticeably lower than normal which causes serious harm to China's polysilicon sector," Zhao Jiasheng, head of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, was quoted by Xinhua as saying.

　　The polysilicon sector in China faces the problem of overcapacity, but the cheap imports have squeezed the market share of domestic firms, Song Liang, an energy analyst at the Distribution Productivity Promotion Center of China Commerce, told the Global Times Sunday.

　　Chinese firms produced 38,000 tons of polysilicon while imported 40,000 tons in the first half of 2012, with the market share of imports rising to 51.3 percent from 43.8 percent in 2011.

　　Meanwhile, some EU members have cut subsidies for their solar power industries, which have weakened the global solar market and further put pressure on China's polysilicon firms, Song said.

　　Eighty percent of 43 Chinese polysilicon makers have suspended production, according to the association.

　　"Chinese firms need to update their technologies and cooperate with foreign counterparts to achieve win-win results," He Weiwen, co-director of the China-US-EU Study Center under the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times Sunday.

　　The industry also needs support from the government, including funds and favorable policies, He said.