Solar panel tariffs 'could make EU miss its own renewable energy targets' Britain's energy minister Greg Barker issues the stark warning in the Telegraph as tariffs of almost 12pc come into force on Thursday in an European Commission attempt to end "dumping" of Chinese products in Europe. The tariffs, which are also opposed by 17 other EU countries, will rise to an average of 47.6pc in two months" time, with some Chinese firms facing tariffs of as high as 68pc. Mr Barker says the "swingeing tariffs" are having a "chilling effect" on the solar panel installation sector. "The knock-on effects will be huge: these tariffs will cause heavy job losses in the wider solar photovoltaic sector across the EU; they will raise the cost to consumers of installing household solar panels by up to 25pc; and they will have a devastating impact on the viability of solar projects across the EU," he writes. "They could jeopardise the EU's efforts to meet its own target to produce 20pc of energy from renewables by 2020," Mr Barker says, in a joint article with Swedish energy minister Anna-Karin Hatt. The ministers say the measures offer "old-fashioned protection to a small number of European manufacturers" and emphasise that free trade is in the interests of European consumers and companies. While the EU needs to guard against dumping, "we simply do not accept that the EC's proposals would achieve that, or that they come at an acceptable cost," they say. The trade war on the issue escalated on Wednesday with China threatening to take retaliatory action against imports of wine from the EU.