BRUSSELS, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The European Union said it would impose additional anti-dumping measures on imports of solar panels from China for certain manufacturers.
The EU said a duty of 67.9 percent will be applied to Chinese solar panel exporters who didn't cooperate with an investigation into allegations the panels were sold to European countries at below market cost.
The EU said that duty applies to less than 20 percent of solar panel exports to Europe. An average duty of 47.7 percent for those exporters who cooperated with the EU stays unchanged for the next two years.
Chinese-manufactured solar products account for more than half of the global market and are a main source of European imports of renewable energy goods.
The EU said the duties should create a "level playing field" for European businesses engaged in the renewable energy sector.
"The industry is essential to the EU's renewable energy targets," the bloc said in a statement Monday. "Unfair trade in solar panels does not help the environment and is not compatible with a healthy global solar industry."
The duty decision came after a 15-month investigation into Chinese solar panel export practices. The Chinese government in August said it agreed to preliminary efforts by the EU to resolve the row, which Beijing said was in the interest of both parties.
