China and the European Union settled their trade dispute over Chinese solar imports, the EU trade commissioner said Saturday, according to dpa. The two sides agreed to minimum prices for imports to the EU of Chinese solar products after a six-week tug of war, Karel De Gucht said. De Gucht said an "amicable solution" had been reached. The agreement prevented a further escalation of the trade dispute, which is unprecedented given the high market value of the solar imports, estimated at 28 billion dollars per year. The EU accused Chinese solar manufacturers of dumping solar products on the European market. Government subsidies in China allowed them to sell their products below production cost in the EU, it alleged. World Trade Organization anti-dumping rules allow countries to protect their domestic industry from unfair competition. The agreement came a week before an EU-imposed deadline of August 6 when punitive tariffs of 47.6 per cent were set to be imposed. Temporary punitive tariffs averaging 11.8 per cent have already been in place since June.
