China will launch an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into European Union solar manufacturing products, the Commerce Ministry said last week. The investigation will determine whether manufacturers are selling materials such as polysilicon, used to make panels, below cost. The investigation will also probe whether manufacturers received illegal subsidies. In September, the EU threatened to impose tariffs on Chinese solar panels after investigating claims by Germany, Italy, and other EU member states that dumping by China had caused prices to fall by as much as 75 percent. China began a probe of Korean and U.S. manufacturers after the United States imposed new duties on about 35 percent of solar equipment from China to restrict Chinese presence in the market. China criticized the initiative, claiming the United States had "sent a negative signal of trade protectionism and blocking the development of new energy to the whole world." China will combine the EU investigations with those of Korea and the United States to "evaluate the accumulated impact of products from the three regions." For the full story, see http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/11/01/us-china-eu-solar-idUKBRE8A004820121101. Earlier: http://elr.info/international/international-update/eu-may-impose-tariffs-chinese-solar-manufacturers.