China faces new solar trade complaint

EU ProSun, a subsidiary of Germany’s Solarworld AG (SWV.FRA), filed an anti-subsidy complaint against Chinese solar makers at the European Commission in Brussels on Tuesday, the second case that the company has filed demanding tariffs, Bloomberg reported. The group’s president Milan Nitzschke, stated in an email that Chinese subsidies are “leading to overcapacities and ruinous price competition.” Since 2010, state-owned China Development Bank has extended US$43.2 billion in credit to 12 Chinese solar companies in what EU ProSun claim is “nearly unlimited state-owned bank financing.” Chinese solar makers have previously denied the claims. On September 6th, the commission began investigating another case initiated by ProSun on whether Chinese companies were dumping solar products in the EU. The complaint filed in July is the biggest of its kind in Europe, covering US$27 billion.