Milan Nitzschke, president of EU ProSun and spokesman for the AEGIS industry association, explains what China's quest for market economy status has to do with the new European anti-dumping directives, and what effect they will have on the measures against Chinese PV manufacturers.The EU Council and the European Parliament issued new anti-dumping rules in Strasbourg on December 13. They will officially come into force on December 20. Milan Nitzschke speaks to pv magazine about what the changes mean.
pv magazine: What are the most important changes to the previous anti-dumping regulation??
Milan Nitzschke: The most important change is that not too much changes. The entire anti-dumping law was at stake. That's off the table now. On the contrary, the new regulation makes anti-dumping measures in the EU more legally secure in the future.
Does the EU Commission still have as much room for maneuver in its decisions in anti-dumping procedures as before?
Yes, even more so than before. Since we are dealing with enormously complex economic issues in commercial legislation, not every detail must be included in the legal text. Accordingly, much depends on assessment and discretion.
The EU is responding with the new regulation to China's aspirations to gain market economy status. What is the current stand?
This triggered the whole process. When China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, it was stated that the country did not have market economy status. Then the negotiators believed it possible the economic constitution of China could change within 15 years. Consequently, since 2016, there has been an provision to provide evidence in commercial law proceedings. China has reinterpreted that provision, and said 2016 was the starting point of its economic status.
The EU has so far not accepted this and, thus, has not recognized China as a market economy?
Right. After 15 years, China sued the European Union before the World Trade Organization Arbitration Court in Geneva. What sounds like legal bluff would have a massive impact on commercial law and the future of the industry in Europe.
In fact, China today is further from a market economy than it was in 2001. The government's economic expansion policy is more aggressive than ever, prices are determined by subsidies and government regulations, and government loans finance dumping prices on foreign markets.
If China were legally recognized as ...Den vollständigen Artikel lesen ...