Chinese manufacturers are awaiting the imminent award of quotas for shipments of PV modules to the EU.
The price undertaking agreed by China’s Chamber of Commerce Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Product (CCCME) and the EU will mean an annual 7GW cap on imports of Chinese built modules to Europe. Imports over and above allocation will be levied at an average of 47.6%.
The CCCME will divide the 7GW between around 100 PV module manufacturers and monitor the application of the agreement.
One Chinese manufacturer, speaking to PV-Tech on the condition of anonymity said it had been presented with a range within which its quota would fall but was still waiting for the go ahead which “could happen any time now”.
“Every one is eagerly awaiting the official [announcement] which will happen at any time from now. The system and process has been set and is ready to launch at any time,” they said.
Canadian Solar CEO Shawn Qu said during a conference call last week that it was confident it would receive an adequate share of the 7GW cap.
“Part of the quota, I think, around 65% of the quota will be decided based on the historical shipping record, and the other 35% will be determined by other factors. So we should get a reasonable amount of quota, and I expect to know that in the next couple of weeks.
PV-Tech has learnt that “other factors” include brand awareness, technological competitiveness and product quality differentiation.
“We are getting our gear up and to resume shipment to Europe,” added Qu, inferring that it paused shipments until the price undertaking agreement had taken hold.
While waiting for the confirmation of quotas, shipments from China passing through EU customs are likely to be exposed to the punitive 47.6% anti-dumping tariffs.
Last week PV-Tech revealed that a minimum of 16 companies had been missed off the list of firms in the EU price undertaking agreement. This has left them in limbo while they wait a month for the error to be rectified.
Ongoing delays to the announcement of the quotas by the CCCME could mean those companies are being impacted no more than any other Chinese manufacturer.
In the event that the CCCME stalls the start of the undertaking for a substantially longer period of time, there could be knock-on effects for suppliers further along the supply chain in Europe.