The impact of trade policy on global production networks: the solar panel case

This paper seeks to shed light on the interactions between public institutions and global production networks (GPNs) through a case study of the 2012-2013 European Union anti-dumping investigation on Chinese solar panels. Drawing on trade data and interviews, as well as press reports and position papers, I analyze the facts of the case and the debate around it and explore the impacts on the geography of production. The case draws attention to two issues which deserve greater attention in research in the GPN tradition. First, the position of companies within a GPN may dictate their political interests more clearly than their nationality. Second, GPNs are seen to be malleable. They can adjust their structures in reaction to new trade restrictions. This fact draws attention to the need to incorporate institutional factors, like trade policy, more effectively into GPN analysis. I propose some criteria to help researchers to do so. Finally, in terms of broader political economy, the case illustrates how, in the post financial crisis context, their domestic market is becoming an important lever for the Chinese government in international negotiations. Thus, at least in the trade sphere, the rise of China as a consumer market is changing global power relations.