MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wacker Chemie AG and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) have resolved the issue of polysilicon exports to China, reported Wacker on its site.
An agreement to this end was signed in Beijing. Wacker, for its part, undertakes not to sell polysilicon produced at its European plants below a specific minimum price in China. MOFCOM, in turn, will refrain from applying anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on this material. The agreement takes effect on May 1, 2014, and lasts until the end of April 2016.
Appropriate schemes ensure that the Munich-based chemical group can continue to offer its polysilicon at standard market conditions in China in the future. Wacker and MOFCOM have decided not to disclose the contents and details of the agreement.
"I am pleased that existing differences concerning the prices for our polysilicon exports to China have been successfully resolved through dialogue," said Wacker CEO Rudolf Staudigl in an initial statement. "The agreed solution is in the best interests of both Wacker and China’s solar industry. We can continue supplying our high-quality material at competitive prices to our Chinese customers, who need it to produce highly efficient solar modules. This agreement is an excellent example of how conflicting opinions in trade issues can be amicably solved through constructive discussions and negotiations based on trust."
As MRC reported earlier, Wacker Polymers, a division of Wacker Chemie AG, has recently announced an increase in its prices for VINNAPAS vinyl acetate-ethylene (EVA) and VINNOL ethylene-vinyl chloride-based (EVCL) copolymer dispersions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Effective April 1, 2014, Wacker will implement a price increase of up to EUR70 per ton, or as customer contracts allow. This measure has been necessitated by the continued increase in raw-material cost.
Polysilicon, is a material consisting of small silicon crystals. It differs from single-crystal silicon, used for electronics and solar cells, and from amorphous silicon, used for thin film devices and solar cells. Polycrystalline silicon is used in the semiconductor industry, starting from poly rods that are two to three meters in length.
Wacker Polymers is a leading producer of state-of-the-art binders and polymeric additives based on polyvinyl acetate and vinyl acetate copolymers. These take the form of dispersible polymer powders, dispersions, solid resins, and solutions. They are used in construction chemicals, paints, surface coatings, adhesives and nonwovens, and in fiber composites and polymeric materials based on renewable resources. Wacker Polymers has production sites in Germany, China, South Korea and the USA, as well as a global sales network and technology centers in all major regions.
MRC