China 's solar companies, already reeling from a collapse in product prices, will face an even tougher road ahead if the European Union follows through with its plan to impose steep tariffs on Chinese-made solar-panel imports.

"There is no way we can be profitable with the new tariffs," said Zhang Longgen, chief financial officer at JinkoSolar Holding Co. (JKS), which ranks among China 's top solar manufacturers. "The only thing we can do is increase the price of our products."

The European Commission, which enforces EU law, plans to announce in June that it will impose tariffs of up to 67.9% on imports of Chinese-made solar panels, according to a copy of the plan viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP, K3ND.SG) will face tariffs of 48.6%, according to the document. Tariffs on LDK Solar Co. (LDK) will be 55.9%, and tariffs on Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL, K3KD.SG) will be 51.5%. JingAo Solar Co. will face tariffs of 58.7%, the document says.

Most other Chinese companies in the sector that cooperated with the investigation will pay the average tariff of 47.6%. Those that didn't will pay a tariff of 67.9%, according to the document.

JingAo declined to comment, while LDK and Trina didn't immediately reply to requests for comment. Suntech said it would respond in a statement later Thursday.

Suntech, the largest supplier of solar panels in 2011, has already blamed part of its financial losses, facility closures and layoffs on anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs that went into effect last year in the U.S. The EU has launched two probes into Chinese solar panel makers accusing them of dumping goods at below-cost prices and receiving unfair subsidies. A third EU anti-subsidy probe was launched last week into Chinese-made solar glass.

European demand for new solar-electricity projects slowed about 12% on year to 16.48 gigawatts in 2012 due to the region's weaker economy and subsidy cuts to renewable-energy projects, according to consultancy NPD Solarbuzz.

However, the value of Chinese solar product exports to Europe fell even more sharply to $11.2 billion in 2012, down 45.1% from a year earlier, according to the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, an industry group.

The sharp decline in export values is likely due to a 50% decline in crystalline silicon solar-panel prices in 2012, according to NPD Solarbuzz.

Although Europe is still the largest market for Chinese solar panels, it has become less important in terms of overall revenue for many of China 's largest solar companies.

Europe made up 55% of JinkoSolar's revenue in 2012, down from 83% in 2011, according to the company's latest annual report. JinkoSolar expects Europe to contribute only 20% toward overall revenue in 2013, Mr. Zhang said.

China , meanwhile, accounted for 45% of JinkoSolar's revenue in 2012, up from 17% in 2011.

Mr. Zhang said that since the beginning of the year, sales to Europe have slowed as his company makes efforts to ensure that European clients are responsible for any retroactive tariffs on solar panels imposed by the EU.

"We have to be cautious and careful about Europe and look at other markets for our products," he said.

Meanwhile, China reiterated Thursday that talks were the best way to resolve the solar trade dispute.

" China and the EU are very important trade partners, and dialogue is the best way to resolve disputes," Yao Jian, a spokesman for China 's Ministry of Commerce, told reporters at a news conference.

"We are resolutely against the potential measures, and we will definitely protect the interests of Chinese companies," Mr. Yao said, adding EU sanctions will affect the entire Chinese solar industry.

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