EUPD Research suggests European installers unhappy with punitive tariffs
The majority of installation companies interviewed by EUPD Research have expressed their discontent with the idea of penalties and European protective tariffs. Should such measures be introduced, installers will be forced to change their product portfolios accordingly. This will also affect those European products partly containing of Chinese components.
Since March, it has been obligatory to register the import of products from Chinese photovoltaic manufacturers with EU authorities. This rule applies to Chinese crystalline photovoltaic modules, wafers and cells. Experts presume that in June, an EU commission will meet to discuss the possible introduction of protective tariffs, known as anti-dumping tariffs. In a survey of around 120 European installers, the market and opinion research institute EuPD Research has analyzed the necessity and acceptance of such tariffs for solar components. Whilst there has already been a lot of research conducted on the opinions of project planners and plant builders with regards to this matter, EuPD Research is now concentrating on the sector of small scale craftspersons.
"Our most recent survey clearly shows that the majority of installation companies are against the introduction of such measures" says Dr. Thomas Olbrecht, head of sales at EuPD Research. "The most widely used arguments brought up by installers against protective tariffs are that these measures would endanger their business models, and that a general price increase would be likely to occur. Many installers also fear that some European products could also be affected by the punitive measures due to their use of Chinese suppliers."
However, if protective tariffs should be introduced in Europe, installers will react as expected. Companies with Chinese products in their portfolios stated that they would only purchase these from trade wholesalers in the future in order to reduce the risk of being affected by retroactive payments. Some of the installers with Chinese products in their portfolios have also considered changing their suppliers and would give preference to European manufacturers. Also no surprise: According to the EuPD Research survey, installers who already carry only European products do not plan to change their purchasing habits, but will nevertheless carry out thorough checks of the specifications and supplier countries of the products they offer.
Most of the installers surveyed are not satisfied with the information policy of the Chinese manufacturers. In this respect, the installers expect concise and honest information and wish that the manufacturers would both include them more in the discussion of such matters and communicate more clearly what effects the punitive tariffs would have on the supply situation, prices and possible retroactive payments.
Installers expect the media to provide more objective information on the situation. However, they also expect consumer media publications to pander more to party politics and not to sufficiently fulfill their role as neutral relayers of information. The complete results of this survey are available in the study "Import Duties: The Installer's Point of View" by EuPD Research.
