India hits Malaysian solar glass with anti-dumping duty

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From pv magazine India.

Days after applying anti dumping duties on east Asian ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) solar sheets, the Indian government has imposed a trade penalty on textured, toughened (tempered) solar glass from Malaysia.

The new, five-year duty – $114.58/metric ton (MT) – will be applicable on solar glass from all Malaysian producers except China’s Xinyi Solar Sdn. Bhd, which has glass manufacturing facilities in Malaysia.

The notification issued by India’s Ministry of Finance described the product as “textured toughened (tempered) glass with a minimum of 90.5% transmission, having thickness not exceeding 4.2 mm (including tolerance of 0.2 mm) and where at least one dimension exceeds 1,500 mm, whether coated or uncoated.”

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Last month, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) recommended the tariff on Malaysian imports after Borosil Glass, India’s only solar glass producer, filed an application for the imposition of an anti-dumping duty. Tempered glass imported from China is already covered by anti-dumping duties of $64.04-136.21/MT, after a similar petition from Borosil in 2017.

Solar glass is a component in PV panels and solar thermal applications.

The DGTR, on the basis of evidence submitted by Borosil, investigated to determine the impact of alleged dumping of Malaysian solar glass. It found solar glass produced by the domestic industry comparable to that imported from Malaysia in terms of physical characteristics, production technology and manufacturing process, functions and uses, product specifications, distribution and marketing. The two were pronounced technically and commercially substitutable.

The move follows hot on the heels of the DGTR decision on Friday to apply a similar trade penalty on EVA sheets imported from Malaysia, China, Saudi Arabia and Thailand and signals a decisive protectionist shift ahead of national elections in April and May.

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