The South Korean government made its defense case against China’s renewal of anti-dumping duties on Korean polysilicon, a key component of solar cells

Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it made its claim at an anti-dumping sunset review hearing Wednesday in Beijing. It was joined by officials from Korean energy companies OCI and Hanwha Chemical.

The Chinese government started imposing punitive tariffs of between 4.4 and 8.9 percent on Korean polysilicon from 2014, on grounds that Chinese manufacturers were suffering from substantial harm from cheap Korean imports.

The anti-dumping duties were valid for a period of five years. A sunset or expiry review began in January 2019 to determine whether to continue or revoke the tariffs. The final ruling is expected to be made by next January.

Seoul argued that Korean supplies no longer hurt the Chinese industry, citing an improvement in Chinese polysilicon output and operation data. It also stressed the need to manage a smooth supply chain between the two countries by pointing to the growing demand for quality Korean products in China’s solar industry.

China levies anti-dumping duties on 15 Korean products including nitrile rubber and electrical steel. It has also imposed safeguard measures against Korean sugar, applying provisional tariffs once imports exceed a certain level.

By Lim Sung-hyun and Kim Hyo-jin

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