Solar stocks popped on Tuesday after the US said it intends to slap tariffs as high as 3,521% on panel imports from four Southeast Asian countries. 

Shares of First Solar (FSLR) rose more than 9% while Sunnova Energy (NOVA) gained more than 12%. SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) and Array Technologies (ARRY), and Enphase (ENPH) also gained during the session.

The sector's move comes after the US Department of Commerce announced the new duties following a year-long investigation into anti-competitive exports from Southeast Asia linked to Chinese companies.

Producers in Cambodia face tariffs as high as 3,521% for not cooperating with the investigation, while levies on Vietnamese exporters reach as high as 813%. Solar imports from Malaysia and Vietnam were also included in the tariff announcement on late Monday. 

Solar companies have been increasingly shifting their operations to the US, incentivized first by Inflation Reduction Act tax credits during the Biden administration, and now by Trump administration tariffs.

California-based solar and battery systems supplier Enphase Energy (ENPH) said in an interview with Bloomberg News in February it is in the process of moving its battery cell manufacturing out of China to avoid US tariffs.

Meanwhile US-based First Solar for example, last year expanded its domestic footprint by inaugurating a new thin-film solar manufacturing facility in Lawrence County, Alabama. The company also operates in Ohio and Louisiana.

LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA via Getty Images

The American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing petitioned for the levies. The trade group has long accused Chinese solar panel makers of setting up shop in Southeast Asia and using government subsidies, making American-made goods uncompetitive.

“This is a decisive victory for American manufacturing and confirms what we’ve long known: that Chinese-headquartered solar companies have been cheating the system, undercutting US companies, and costing American workers their livelihoods,” Tim Brightbill, co-chair of Wiley’s International Trade Practice, said in a press release on Monday.

The move comes after the US Commerce department said its investigation determined "imports of solar cells from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam are being dumped into the U.S. market", while receiving subsidies from the Chinese government.

The International Trade Commission, a separate agency, must vote on whether the subsidized imports harmed the industry before Commerce Department can institute its tariffs. The ITC has until June 2 to do so.

Solar stocks have been volatile over the past year, as interest rates impact borrowing costs for customers and demand. President Trump's White House victory also put pressure on the sector as the administration talked down green energy initiatives in favor of fossil fuels. 

The Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) jumped more than 5% on Tuesday, but the sector is down more than 13% year-to-date, and 27% lower over the past year. 

Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.

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