Anti-dumping review of polysilicon: Tax rate for Korean companies may rise from 2.4% to 33.68%
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Review of anti-dumping measures on polysilicon: Tax rate for Korean companies could rise from 2.4% to 33.68% Yesterday, Global New Energy Network reported that on November 22nd, in response to the requests submitted by four companies—Jiangsu Zhongneng Silicon Technology Development Co., Ltd., Jiangxi Sunwoda LDK Photovoltaic Silicon Technology Co., Ltd., Luoyang Zhongsil High-Tech Co., Ltd., and Chongqing Daquan New Energy Co., Ltd.—to the Ministry of Commerce for a mid-term review of the anti-dumping measures applied to imported solar-grade polysilicon originating from South Korea, the Ministry issued a notice regarding the conduct of such a mid-term review. It is understood that the domestic industry submitted an application for an anti-dumping investigation to the Ministry of Commerce on July 2, 2012, requesting an anti-dumping investigation into imported solar-grade polysilicon originating from the United States and South Korea. On January 20, 2014, the Ministry of Commerce issued the \"Announcement on the Final Determination regarding the Anti-dumping Investigation on Imported Solar-grade Polysilicon Originating from the United States and South Korea,\" determining that the products under investigation originating from the United States and South Korea were subject to dumping. In accordance with this final determination, anti-dumping duties of 2.4%–48.7% were imposed on the products of South Korean origin starting from January 20, 2014. However, after the implementation of anti-dumping measures, the dumping of polysilicon imports from South Korea became even more severe. In 2014, South Korea surpassed Germany and the United States to become the largest source of imported polysilicon. Compared to 2013, before the implementation of anti-dumping measures, imports of polysilicon from South Korea increased by 65% in 2014, reaching 35,000 tons. In 2015, imports increased by another 35% on a year-on-year basis, reaching 48,000 tons. In 2015, due to the massive dumping of polysilicon from abroad, the price of polysilicon in the domestic market dropped from 144,000 yuan per ton at the beginning of the year to 106,000 yuan per ton by the end of the year, representing a total decline of 26.4% ； The average annual price was 124,000 yuan per ton, a decrease of 22.6% year-on-year. Furthermore, the information publicly disclosed by South Korean polysilicon companies and the analysis reports prepared by third-party agencies both indicate that during the period when anti-dumping measures were in effect, the price of South Korean polysilicon exported to China remained significantly lower than its normal value; the actual degree of dumping was much higher than the anti-dumping duty rate determined in the original final ruling. Furthermore, although South Korea has a production capacity of over 100,000 tons of polysilicon, it has almost no photovoltaic industry or demand for photovoltaic applications; its polysilicon is largely dependent on the Chinese market for consumption. As the volume increased while prices dropped, it became the largest source of imports, accounting for nearly half of such imports, thus impacting the domestic polysilicon industry.
Jiangsu Zhongneng Silicon Industry Technology Development Co., Ltd., one of the applicants, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GCL-Poly. In 2015, it produced 75,000 tons of polysilicon, making it the largest polysilicon producer in the world. GCL-Poly also has a production capacity of nearly 20 gigawatts for silicon wafers; in 2015 its output was 15 gigawatts, accounting for one-third of the global market share. The appeal states, “Correcting the unfair dumping practices of Korean companies will not cause supply shortages or price increases in the domestic market.” In 2015, China’s total output of solar cells was 41 GW ； China’s total effective polysilicon production capacity is 190,000 tons, with actual output at 169,000 tons. The existing polysilicon production capacity in China alone is sufficient to meet the raw material needs for nearly 40 GW of solar cells. In 2015, the total import volume of polysilicon from Germany, the United States, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Norway, Japan, and Saudi Arabia exceeded 60,000 tons. Even without taking into account the potential to increase domestic production through further technological upgrades (35,000 tons of additional production was achieved in 2015 through such upgrades), the existing domestic production capacity along with imports from other ** regions already exceeds the material needs of downstream enterprises. Furthermore, a fierce competitive environment has emerged among the dozen or so polysilicon manufacturers in the country; any company that attempts to raise prices in the short term is essentially giving up on the market. ” For the above reasons, on February 14, 2016, Jiangsu Zhongneng Silicon Technology Development Co., Ltd., Jiangxi Sunwoda LDK Photovoltaic Silicon Technology Co., Ltd., Luoyang Zhongsi High-Tech Co., Ltd., and Chongqing Daquan New Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the domestic industry applicants) submitted an application to the Ministry of Commerce, arguing that following the final ruling, the level of dumping of solar-grade polysilicon exported from South Korea to China had increased, and requesting a mid-term review of the anti-dumping measures applicable to imported solar-grade polysilicon originating from South Korea.
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