An attorney for Solarworld didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.
Suniva had sought import duties of 32 cents a watt for solar panels produced outside the U.S. and a floor price of 74 cents a watt.
While Trump has broad authority on the size, scope and duration of duties, the dispute may shift to a different venue. China and neighbors including South Korea may opt to challenge the decision at the World Trade Organization which has rebuffed prior U.S.-imposed tariffs that appeared before it.
Lewis Leibowitz, a Washington-based trade lawyer, expects the matter will wind up with the WTO. Nothing is very likely to stop the relief in its tracks, he said before the decision. Its going to take a while.
The solar industry may also attempt a long-shot appeal to Congress.
Trump wants to show hes tough on trade, so whatever duties or quotas he imposes will stick, whatever individual senators or congressmen might say, Gary Hufbauer, a Washington-based senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said by email before the decision.