The winners and losers in Trump's trade crackdown

[SHANGHAI] Tariffs are meant to punish, and protect. Who comes out as a winner or loser from the US decision to slap duties on solar panels and washing machines isn't straightforward.

While the obvious winners are American manufacturers that will likely become more competitive, foreign companies that have built a local presence could also gain an edge. On the losing side, overseas appliance producers will hurt, but tariff levels for some solar panel makers based outside the US may not be as steep as they had expected.

Here are some winners:

And the losers:

LG could see an impact of 2 per cent to 3 per cent on its earnings from the tariff, according to Dohoon Lee, Seoul-based analyst at CIMB Securities.

The biggest Chinese-owned producers including Trina Solar Ltd, Canadian Solar Inc and JA Solar Holdings Co will all feel the effect of the tariffs in the short term at least, according to Robin Xiao, an analyst at CMB International Securities. Beyond that, he's expecting continued growth in downstream solar demand as cost reduction methods offset the increased tariffs.

Asian countries accounted for more than 90 per cent of the US$3.7 billion in US solar module imports in the first 10 months of last year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Every nation will be impacted by the new levies, though they're in-line with expectations, said Liu Yiyang, deputy secretary-general of China Photovoltaic Industry Association.

BLOOMBERG