The government would explain a recent solar energy product mislabeling incident to the EU in a bid to avoid potential anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs, Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng (鄧振中) said in the legislature in Taipei yesterday.
The EU in May launched an investigation into Taiwanese and Malaysian solar panel manufacturers after Chinese exporters were accused of evading the levies by shipping solar panels to the EU through Taiwan and Malaysia.
One Taiwanese importer has been accused of importing solar panels from China and relabeling the products as “made in Taiwan” before selling them to the EU to avoid tariffs.
Photo: CNA
Answering questions by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), Deng said that Taiwan had never been involved in any illegal sales of solar energy products to the EU and that the accused Taiwanese importer’s alleged conduct was an isolated, unfortunate case.
Deng said that the government would provide the EU with evidence that shows most Taiwanese solar energy product exporters abide by international trade regulations, adding that the government would not allow outliers to tarnish the reputation of exporters and hurt the nation’s exports.
Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said the importer who mislabeled solar energy products made in China would face severe punishment, while the government would try its best to clarify the situation to the EU.
According to a May edition of the Official Journal of the European Union, German firm SolarWorld AG requested the investigation, presenting the European Commission with sufficient evidence that Chinese solar panel exporters used Taiwan and Malaysia to skirt anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs, adding that such practices have “undermined” existing trade measures.
EU ProSun, a SolarWorld-led trade group, estimated that the circumvention had cost the EU 500 million euros (US$558 million) in lost customs revenue.
When the probe was launched in May, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said that the EU was scheduled to complete the investigation in nine months.
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