US Solar Tariffs: Stocks To Watch Tomorrow As India Faces Steep 126% Solar Import Duties

The US Department of Commerce has finalized steep anti-dumping and countervailing duties on solar cells and panels imported from India.

The decision was announced on Friday, September 11th, hitting Indian producers with a final anti-dumping margin of 123.04% and a countervailing duty rate of 126.09%, which is the sharpest trade action the sector has faced.

The ruling was announced after a trade case brought by the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, a group whose members include First Solar, Hanwha Qcells, and Mission Solar Energy.

The group had alleged that solar cell and panel producers in India, Indonesia, and Laos were dumping products into the US market at unfairly low prices while benefiting from government subsidies that hurt domestic manufacturers.

Import Duties in India, Indonesia & Laos

For Indian producers, the Commerce Department set a final anti-dumping margin of 123.04% alongside a countervailing duty rate of 126.09% on any Indian solar shipment bound for the US.

Indonesian exporters were handed a final anti-dumping margin of 94.36%, with countervailing duty rates ranging between 73.2% and 173.7% depending on the manufacturer.

Laos-based producers received the lightest treatment among the three, with a final anti-dumping margin of 65.43% and countervailing subsidy rates set between 82.03% and 153.67%.

However, the ruling is not the final decision. The US International Trade Commission is going to deliver its own final rule on October 14th on whether the dumped and subsidized imports are impacting the American solar manufacturing industry.

If the votes come back in favor, the Commerce Department will issue formal anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders by November 2nd.

The US has been the single largest overseas market for India's solar industry, accounting for close to 97-99% of the country's total solar module and cell exports in FY23 and FY24.

Stocks To Watch Tomorrow

Waaree Energies will be impacted the most since its position as India's largest solar PV module manufacturer and the biggest listed player with US exposure.

The stock closed at Rs. 2,625 on the NSE as of September 11th, against a 52-week high of Rs. 3,865 and a 52-week low of Rs. 2,403, with a market capitalization of around Rs. 75,329 crore.

Premier Energies and Vikram Solar are the other two names likely to see some action in the market tomorrow, since both were among the hardest-hit stocks when the preliminary duty was first announced.

Vikram Solar in particular draws close to 16% of its revenue from exports and around 20% of its order book from international markets, keeping it more sensitive than peers to shifts in US trade policy.

Waaree Renewable Technologies, Solex Energy, Saatvik Green Energy, and Borosil Renewables are also going to be in focus.