India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry has launched an anti-dumping investigation against the import of solar cells, the basic component used in the manufacturing of solar modules, from China, Thailand, and Vietnam after an application was submitted by the Indian Solar Manufacturers’ Association (ISMA). The notice issued by the directorate general of trade remedies said that prima facie evidence of dumping of photovoltaic (PV) cells was found against the products of the three nations, which has caused damage to the local energy industry.
While low module prices have played a major role in bringing photo-voltaic tariffs down to the current low of INR 1.99/unit, local manufacturers are finding it increasingly difficult to sell their products because the prices from their competitors have kept the domestic solar sector reliant on imports. In fact, Chinese products are 15-20% cheaper than their Indian counterparts.
This is not the first time that an anti-dumping probe has been launched by New Delhi. In July 2017, a similar anti-dumping investigation was launched by the government against the import of solar cells from China, Taiwan, and Malaysia after the ISMA filed a petition calling for the government to act upon what it claimed was the unfair importation of “solar cells, whether or not assembled in modules or panels or on glass or some other suitable substrates origination in or exported from China, Taiwan, and Malaysia.”
At the time, however, although it was found that solar cell and module manufacturers from the countries in question were dumping their produce into Indian markets to drive down PV prices to unfair and uncompetitive levels in order to gain a dominant market share, the ISMA requested the government to call off the investigation. As a balancing measure aimed to boost domestic manufacturing, the central government imposed a 25% safeguard duty on solar imports from China and Malaysia in July 2018 for two years, which was extended to July 2021, at a rate of 15%.
While the safeguard duty imposition controlled imports from China and Malaysia, solar imports have since spiked from Vietnam and Thailand. Between FY18 and FY20, imports of solar cells and modules from Vietnam and Thailand have recorded a growth rate of 800% and 5,750%, to $136 million and $117 million, respectively. In the same period, Chinese imports have fallen 60% to $1.3 billion.
To boost domestic production, the Indian government in April also introduced the Rs 4,500-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for solar module manufacturing. According to analysts at India Ratings, the scheme will further the sales of 20 GW of domestic product from the output capacity developed under the five-year programme.
India Launches Anti-Dumping Probe Against China, Thailand, and Vietnam
India’s commerce ministry has initiated an anti-dumping investigation against the import of solar cells from China, Thailand, and Vietnam, in a move that has already harmed the domestic industry.
May 17, 2021
SOURCE: FINANCIAL EXPRESS