Yingli Green Energy Hold. Co. Ltd. (ADR) (YGE), Trina Solar Limited (ADR) (TSL): Europe Hasn’t Dropped the Hammer on Chinese Solar … Yet

Europe is a bigger source of demand, and there have already been threats of tariffs on polysilicon imports into China and even a probe into imports of European wine in the past day.

The problem is, China would be hurting its own solar industry by implementing solar-related duties, and extrapolating to other industries is dangerous for an export nation.

Are there winners out there?
So are any companies happy about tariffs on Chinese panels headed for Europe? I talked to SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) CEO Tom Werner recently about potential tariffs, and he called them an incremental positive. Europe is SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR)’s worst operating region, and it’s far more cost-sensitive than the U.S., so the company could gain some share there.

European manufacturers would also benefit, although many have already been forced into bankruptcy. In the end, the best thing for everyone would be a negotiated agreement, but it appears both Europe and China aren’t willing to compromise, and the solar industry will be the one hurt in the long run.

The article Europe Hasn’t Dropped the Hammer on Chinese Solar … Yet originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Travis Hoium manages an account that owns shares of SunPower, personally owns shares of SunPower, and has long January 2015 $5, $7, $15, and $25 calls on SunPower. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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