Chronic. “Let in the sun,” sang the hippies of Hair in 1968, at a time when we still believed that another world was possible. Without being revolutionary, the european Commission intends to also, fifty years later, let in the sun, but this one is chinese. From this Monday, September 3, the panels and solar cells of the Middle kingdom will be able to land without restriction in the landscapes of the Old Continent. A turnaround is widely expected but spectacular if we replace in 2013 when, on a complaint of the european industrial sector, Europe imposed restrictions on the import of panels chinese.
Intriguingly, whereas, since that date, the weather has seriously cooled on the front of the international trade, the 28 members of the Union play the appeasement. A strategy opposite to that of the new tenant of the White House who had stopped to relight the trade wars, and particularly those with China. This is why Beijing has welcomed this decision, which constitutes according to him a ” model of positive regulation of a commercial dispute “.
The Commission had to decide between the two lobbies. The industrialists, who advocate the closing of borders, and the installers who are seeking the cheapest products possible. These have been successful for two reasons. First, because importers and installers represent digitally a lot more revenue and jobs : more than 80 000 in Europe in 2016, according to the profession. For them, the lifting of tariff barriers is expected to add 45 000 jobs in the value chain. In France alone, with the new programs announced, the number of jobs that could be multiplied by five.
Failed patent for Europe
The second reason is more fundamental. To achieve its ambitious development of renewable,…
