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Germany: Environment minister rethinks taxes on Chinese manufacturers

German Federal Environment Minister, Peter Altmaier is for the implementation of anti-dumping lawsuits against Chinese manufacturers in the European context, should there be evidence of unfair competition.

German Environment Minister Peter Altmaier ponders taxes on Chinese manufacturers.

Deutscher Bundestag/Simone M. Neumann

Altmaier (Christian Democratic Party) is seeking to raise this issue at the end of August with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel when they visit China. Local media Handelsblatt cited Altmaier as saying that the survival of photovoltaics was of national interest. Altmaier wants a solar branch that can hold its own amidst international competition.

In the past weeks, Altmaier has brought attention to the anti-dumping cases against Chinese manufacturers in the solar sector. This has evoked mixed reactions. SolarWorld for one welcomes the comments. Wacker Chemie on the other hand feels it is not helpful to start a trade war with China as reported in the local newspaper "taz".

Meanwhile China has announced that it would launch countervailing duty (CVD) and anti-dumping (AD) investigations against the U.S. solar industry, as well as an AD case against South Korea.