The Chinese solar community is responding to anti-dumping allegations of Chinese solar products. The European Commission is currently reviewing charges by several European companies. Representatives of JinkoSolar, based in Shanghai, said the charges are unfounded and unfair and do not reflect the reality of the highly-competitive global solar industry. They also believe that trade protectionism will only harm fair competition in the market, hinder development of the entire PV industry and also harm consumers.
“JinkoSolar, as one of the leading photovoltaic manufacturers in the industry, will actively cooperate with the European Commission’s investigation. The company will continue expanding into emerging markets, including China, South Africa, India and Australia to alleviate possible impacts that could result from the potential trade friction,” said Xiande Li, JinkoSolar’s Chairman.
Complaints were lodged in July of this year that solar panels and their key components imported from China enter the European market at prices below market value. According to a press statement, in terms of import value affected, this is the most significant anti-dumping complaint the European Commission has received so far.
Dr. Peng Fang, CEO of JA Solar, also based in Shanghai, responded by saying, “JA Solar believes in fair and open trade. As a public company, we conduct all our business transactions in a transparent manner. The imposition of antidumping tariffs on Chinese solar products would be highly damaging to both the European and global solar markets. Strong and fair competition across the global solar market has been the catalyst for rapid innovation and has allowed millions of consumers in Europe and around the world to access clean and affordable renewable energy. We believe that antidumping tariffs would jeopardize the huge progress the industry has made in recent years.”
The Commission will respond to the charges within the next nine months. During this time, an investigation will be conducted and it will determined if any measures will be taken.