Solar tariffs in Europe started at a low 11% rate last week, but if a deal between Europe, China, and even the U.S. isn't reached by Aug. 6 then they could go up to as much as 68%. This is clearly a negative development for Chinese manufacturers like Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE), LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK), and Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL), but it's not necessarily good for U.S. companies either. First Solar (FSLR 4.17%) has little presence in Europe right now and SunPower (SPWR +0.00%) won't see much benefit from tariffs either. In the end, tariffs are bad for nearly everyone, a sentiment Travis Hoium covers in the video below.
Tariffs Bad for Most Solar Companies
By Travis Hoium – Jun 13, 2013 at 11:15AM
NASDAQ: FSLR
First Solar
Market Cap
$29B
Today's Change
(-4.17%) $11.34
Current Price
$260.64
Price as of November 7, 2025 at 1:11 PM ET
You might think there are big winners from solar tariffs but the reality is a lot of losers and few winners.
About the Author
Travis Hoium is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering solar energy, technology, and growth stocks. Before The Motley Fool, Travis was a mechanical engineer at 3M and founded a virtual reality company. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Minnesota.