Solar Organizations Issue Warning About Potential New U.S. Trade Investigation Ahead - Bloomberg (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Renewable energy proponents are gearing up for potential new trade investigations into American solar imports that could lead to additional tariffs on panels made overseas. A recent Bloomberg report reveals that the American Clean Power Association and the Solar Energy Industries Association have raised concerns about a potential new petition being filed with the U.S. government later this month. This petition is expected to claim that solar panels from various Asian countries are being sold in the U.S. at prices below their production costs. This new complaint is said to be different from a previous trade probe that found solar cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam were avoiding existing duties on Chinese equipment. However, the upcoming investigation may still focus on these countries and potentially others.

Financial firm Guggenheim Partners chimed in on the matter, suggesting that increased anti-dumping petition activity in the U.S. solar industry could be attributed to the hawkish trade talks surrounding the current presidential election.

The firm indicated that this heightened trade policy uncertainty could benefit First Solar but have negative implications for other companies in the utility-scale solar sector. Following this news, First Solar's stocks saw a 1.8% increase on Friday, but other solar companies such as Canadian Solar, Enphase Energy, Sunnova Energy, SunPower, Array Technologies, and SolarEdge Technologies experienced losses.