Investing.com - The U.S. solar industry is likely to see the return of tariffs in the near future, and this is likely to lead to a shake up, according to Evercore ISI, to the likely benefit of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR).

The market is expecting the Biden administration to remove a trade exemption for bifacial solar modules imported to the U.S., which now represents around 98% of U.S. solar imports, reversing the trade exemption granted nearly two years ago to bifacial panels.

Market participants have stated that reliance on imports and oversupply are negatively impacting solar domestic factories, Evercore noted, which have been a priority for the current U.S. administration, putting pressure on greater U.S. trade protections and policy support. 

With this in mind, Evercore upgraded its investment stance on First Solar to ‘outperform’ from ‘in line’, saying it will be one of the main beneficiaries of new or higher tariffs and the reversion of the bifacial exemption.

On the flip side, it downgraded SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR) to ‘in line’ from ‘outperform’, citing persistent high interest rates, continued weakness in California after NEM 3.0 [net energy metering], and the possibility of further capital needs.