18 member states, including Germany and the UK, voted against the punitive levy, four in favour and five abstained.
According to www.solarpanelportal.co.uk, the European Trade Commissioner, Karel de Gucht, faces a tough struggle to persuade member states to support the European Commission’s (EC’s) proposed average duty rate of 47%.
There has been much argument over the so called dumping of solar panels. The EC argues China unfairly subsidises its solar panel firms, putting Europe's manufacturers at a disadvantage.
Their importation is worth 21bn euros (£18bn) a year and EU-China trade is worth more than 500 billion euros annually. So it is a decision that has not been made lightly.
However, while European manufacturers may be hit by the Chinese imports, the solar industry as a whole could benefit from cheaper modules as consumer demand and ROI increases.
A Solar Trade Association spokesperson said the levy was ‘absurd’ and a key to ‘lingering market uncertainty’. He added it was important the punitive tariffs weren’t imposed so the ‘industry can get on with installing low cost, clean and affordable solar energy’.