EU and China in yet another tech trade spat

Already-tense relations between Europe and China appear to have worsened after the People’s Republic announced an anti-dumping investigation into EU imports of solar-grade polysilicon. The move was widely seen as a response to the European Union’s decision to launch a similar investigation against Chinese manufacturers in …

[Ole Juul]

What does artificial mean?

The process of dumping sees illegal state subsidies offered to manufacturers, allowing prices to stay artificially low.

Governments provide incentives and infrastructure for manufacturers to operate. This is good if it's in your country and bad if it's in another - in which case it is deemed to be artificial. Did I get that right?

[Nick Kew]

Who in Europe?

So who's been subsidising PV in Europe?

The industry is subsidised by virtue of there being FITs for consumers. But that's industry-wide, and applies equally to imported vs EU-made polysilicon.

We know Obama poured money into some lame duck (I forget the name) in the US, thus damaging its competitors both in the US and around the world. But who in the EU?

[Tim Worstal]

No one's subsidising PV

Because the argument isn't about PV. It's about the silicon ingot/wafer.