JA Solar also withdrawing from EU price undertaking

Less than a month after rival JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS) announced its decision to withdraw from the European Union (EU) price undertaking, JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd (NASDAQ:JASO) made the same move.

The Chinese solar products maker said today it had determined that it can remain competitive in the EU markets only if it exits the price undertaking because the fixed minimum import price (MIP) set in the agreement is now considerably higher than the current average selling prices in the union.

In late 2013, the EU imposed definitive anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on solar cells and modules imported from China. In order to avoid being slapped with anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties of 51.5% and 5.0%, respectively, JA Solar agreed to sell its products in the EU at a price above the MIP.

“Selling prices continue to decline, while the MIP has remained unchanged for the past 18 months. Unfortunately, the current MIP adversely impacts our ability to execute our business strategy and hinders the growth of the European solar industry,” said Baofang Jin, JA Solar’s chairman and CEO.

Now, JA Solar will serve the European market through its factories outside of China.

JA Solar and JinkoSolar’s competitor Trina Solar Ltd (NYSE:TSL) exited the price undertaking in December 2015.

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