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Renewable energy advocates are bracing for potential new trade investigations into U.S. solar imports that could lead to additional tariffs on foreign-made panels, Bloomberg reported Friday.
Staff from two trade groups: the American Clean Power Association and Solar Energy Industries Association – warned their boards last week of a possible new petition that will be filed with the US government this month, alleging that solar panels from several Asian countries are being dumped in the US at below-cost prices of production, according to the association relationship.
The complaint is reportedly distinct from a separate trade investigation that concluded last year that solar cells and modules completed in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam were circumventing long-standing tariffs on equipment from China, but l The action would likely target the same countries and could even lead to others.
Guggenheim Partners issued a note Friday discussing the potential for new “anti-dumping petition activity in the U.S. solar industry,” the latest example of aggressive trade discourse in the current presidential election season.
Guggenheim says the main takeaway is that increased trade policy uncertainty in the U.S. solar market is likely “good news” for First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) and “less beneficial to everyone else in utility-scale solar.”
Primo Solare (FSLR) finished +1.8% in Friday trading, while most solar names posted losses, including Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -7.5%Enphase Energy (ENPH) -7%Sunnova Energy (NOVA) -6.8%SunPower (SPWR) -6.6%Array Technologies (ARRY) -3.2%SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) -3%.
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