BEIJING - China will impose provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of solar-grade polysilicon, a key raw material for solar panels, from the U.S. and South Korea, the government said.
The move, detailed in announcements seen on the commerce ministry's website Friday, is the latest step in a long-running dispute between Washington and Beijing on the issue, and comes after the EU imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panels.
Duties on U.S. imports will range from 53.3% to 57%, and up to 48.7% on purchases from South Korea, the ministry said.
An investigation found U.S. and South Korea "dumped their products on the Chinese market and caused material harm to China's domestic solar industry," it said.
The probe was launched last year after the U.S. imposed levies of up to 250% on Chinese solar cells it said were being sold at artificially low prices. Beijing blasted the move as "protectionist."
It is one of a series of trade rows between China and the United States over a wide range of issues, from cars to electronic payments, which have on occasion had to be settled by the World Trade Organization.
In June the EU imposed an average anti-dumping tariff of 11.8% on solar panel imports from China, rising to more than 47% next month if no deal is reached.
Beijing has since announced an investigation into wine imports from the EU, and the two also are embroiled in disputes over steel pipes and telecom equipment, among others.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2013
