EANS-News: Wacker Chemie AG Wacker is Against Trade Duties on Chinese Solar
Modules
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Company Information
Munich (euro adhoc) - May 29, 2012 - Wacker Chemie AG has taken a firm stand
against efforts to impose trade duties on Chinese-made solar modules in the
European Union. The Munich-based chemical company's CEO, Rudolf Staudigl, issued
a statement to that effect today. "We are convinced that protectionist measures
will not help the domestic solar industry, but rather impair the photovoltaic
technology's future prospects", Staudigl said. The US Department of Commerce
decided to impose tariffs of up to 250 percent on Chinese-made solar modules
imported into the US. Some market participants are in favor of a similar move in
the European Union, too.
Experience would show, however, that trade barriers were not a suitable way of
ensuring open and fair competition among the market's participants, the CEO
emphasized. Differences of opinion about balanced competitive conditions could
only be resolved through political dialogue. Imposing sanctions, in contrast,
would only inhibit competition. They could provoke a trade war, which would end
up being a disadvantage for every company in the solar industry.
At the same time, Staudigl stressed that the lion's share of value added is
always created by local businesses when setting up solar systems - regardless of
where the solar modules are manufactured. Moreover, additional cost burdens from
tariffs for imported photovoltaic modules would hold back the competiveness of
solar power within the energy mix, impairing the switchover to renewable energy
sources in Germany, Staudigl said.
Further inquiry note:
Christof Bachmair
Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 (0)89 6279 1830
E-Mail: christof.bachmair@wacker.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: Wacker Chemie AG
Hanns-Seidel-Platz 4
D-81737 München
phone: +49 (0) 89 6279 01
FAX: +49 (0) 89 6279 1770
mail: info@wacker.com
WWW: http://www.wacker.com
sector: Chemicals
ISIN: DE000WCH8881
indexes: MDAX, CDAX, Prime All Share
stockmarkets: free trade: Hannover, München, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart,
regulated dealing: Berlin, regulated dealing/prime standard:
Frankfurt
language: English