China Gives Pass to Europe in Solar Trade Dispute

China on Friday gave a pass to the European Union in a trade dispute over solar materials after it upheld tariffs earlier this week on similar products imported from the U.S. and South Korea .

China 's Ministry of Commerce said Friday that although it found evidence that the EU was subsidizing and dumping solar-grade polysilicon, it wouldn't implement any tariffs because of "special market conditions."

The move comes six months after China and the European Union settled a trade dispute over Chinese-made solar panels, in which the EU accused China of subsidizing production and selling the products at below-cost prices, known as dumping.

The announcement is in stark contrast to earlier this week, when China 's commerce ministry upheld anti-dumping tariffs on U.S. and South Korean polysilicon shipments and an additional anti-subsidy tariff on U.S. shipments. The anti-dumping tariffs are as high as 57% for U.S. suppliers and as high as 48.7% for South Korean suppliers. The anti-subsidy tariffs are around 2.1% for most U.S. suppliers.

China and the U.S. remain embroiled in a trade dispute over solar equipment. The U.S. Department of Commerce said Thursday that it would open an investigation into whether Chinese solar-panel manufacturers were exploiting a loophole that allowed them to sell solar cells from Taiwan to the U.S. without penalty. The U.S. imposed tariffs of as high as 36% on Chinese solar manufacturers in 2012, accusing the companies of benefiting from unfair subsidies.