Shares of Waaree Energies fell sharply today, declining 4.86% to ₹3,247.10 in early trade, opening at ₹3,348.10 and touching an intraday low of ₹3,235.90 against a previous close of ₹3,413. Sell quantity dominated at 56% versus 44% buy. The trigger is a major trade policy blow from Washington announced overnight.
The US Commerce Department announced preliminary antidumping duties on solar cells and panels imported from India, Indonesia and Laos — the latest in a string of tariffs imposed over a decade on cheap solar imports from Asia. The agency calculated a preliminary dumping margin of 123.04% for imports from India, 35.17% for Indonesia, and 22.46% for Laos.
This comes on top of an earlier countervailing duty blow. The US had previously announced preliminary countervailing duties of 125.87% on Indian solar imports, with the department stating that manufacturers in India benefited from government subsidies that placed US producers at a competitive disadvantage.
The combined impact — anti-dumping duties of 123% on top of countervailing duties of ~126% — effectively shuts the door on Indian solar exports to the US at current economics. India, Indonesia and Laos together accounted for $4.5 billion in US solar imports last year, about two-thirds of the total. For Waaree Energies, which has been aggressively expanding its US manufacturing and export footprint, the duty announcement creates significant near-term uncertainty on order economics and margins.
These are preliminary determinations — final rulings are yet to come — but the market is pricing in the risk immediately.