The EU’s flagship Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), which entered into force in 2024, is explicitly intended to boost European net-zero technology manufacturing capacity and includes specific criteria designed to reduce reliance on countries that dominate the supply of net-zero technologies to the EU. In the case of solar, this means China, which accounted for 98% of all EU solar panel imports in 2023 and 2024. Chinese companies can produce panels at much lower costs than EU manufacturers and are currently selling panels below cost due to significant overcapacity in the sector, making it virtually impossible for EU companies to compete without subsidies.

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