Calls have appeared in China to ban imports of polysilicon in the form of processing trade or transshipment trade, as these kind of imports topped 5,868 tonnes in May, 84.4% of the total amount of 6,949 tonnes, apparently for the purpose of evading tariffs and anti-dumping duties.

In the month, imports of polysilicon from Taiwan in the name of transshipment hit 885 tonnes, a record high, amounting to 12.7% of total imports.

"Such imports are obviously designed to circumvent the 53.3%-57% anti-dumping duty on imports of polysilicon from the US and 2.3%-48.7% on imports of the product from South Korea, according to a ruling made by the Ministry of Commerce in early 2014," said Liu Jing, a silicon-industry analyst at the China Nonferrous Metals Association, according to Beijing-based Securities Daily.

In contrast, US customs already started levying deposits, equivalent to 18.56%-35.21% anti-dumping duty rates set by an initial ruling of the US Department of Commerce, on import of China-made polysilicon photovoltaic batteries and components from June, an industry insider told the paper.

The US Department of Commerce is scheduled to publicize an initial verdict on the anti-dumping investigation into Chinese photovoltaic products on July 28 before making a final ruling on anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on Dec. 11. In the meantime, China-made photovoltaic products are subject to the levy of deposits.

To counteract the ruling, China's Ministry of Commerce announced on Jan. 20 this year a final ruling levying 53.3%-57% anti-dumping duty on imports of US-made solder-energy polysilicon and 2.4%-48.7% on such products from Korea.

The countermeasure, however, appears to provide little help to China's polysilicon industry, as in the first quarter only a number of leading firms in the line managed to remain in the black, with 10-odd second-tier firms maintaining only 54% of capacity utilization rate and most third-tier firms remaining closed.

Despite the anti-dumping duty, imports of poly-silicon still advanced 5.9% year-on-year to 36,366 tonnes in the first five months this year, due mainly to the free tariff on imports in the form of processing trade, or imports for the purpose of re-export after undertaking processing.

Imports of polysilicon in the form of processing trade topped 26,405 tonnes in the first five months, 72.6% of total imports, including 4,030 tonnes from Taiwan, 11.1% of the total imports. Since the publication of the initial ruling on the anti-dumping duty on imports of polysilicon by China's Ministry of Commerce last July, the US has continued to export polysilicon to China, over 90% of which is for processing, which is eligible for tariff-free treatment. In this manner, US suppliers saved some 570 million yuan (US$91.9 million) in anti-dumping duties for exports to China during the period.