Installers furious at solar panel tax

Published on 17 May 2013 at 13:59

Will EU plans to impose import duties have their intended impact? According to NRC Handelsblad, “installing Chinese solar panels is a lucrative business in Europe.” In the Netherlands, the solar energy sector has been marked “by spectacular growth,” in spite of the economic crisis. The newspaper explains that —

… vast numbers of entrepreneurs and companies in the electrical installation business, who were hard hit by the crisis in the construction industry, have eagerly moved into the solar panel installation. As it stands, they are able to get by thanks to Chinese equipment. They really do not need a European tax that will make solar panels more expensive [...] AFASE[the organisation which defends the interests of European solar installers] is worried that the taxes could result in 242,000 job losses across Europe — a figure that is vehemently contested by the supporters of import duties, like German panel manufacturer SolarWorld.

NRC Handelsblad points out that the European Commission will decide on the issue of import duties at the end of May. If it rules in favour of the measure, duties will be imposed from the beginning of June, although they will not definitively established until December. They could also be applied retrospectively to transactions dating back to March 6, 2013.

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