A 100-percent tariff on imported solar PV cells and modules from China would threaten U.S. solar jobs, said an economic analysis released by a U.S. solar industry group on Monday.

The imposition of tariffs will "result in as many as 50,000 net lost jobs in the U.S. over the next three years", said the study, commissioned by the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy (CASE).

Furthermore, "retaliatory tariffs placed on U.S. exports of polysilicon to China would put nearly 11,000 more U.S. jobs at risk in the first year," added the report. Polysilicon is a key material used to make photovoltaic solar cells.

"We cannot allow one company's anti-China crusade to threaten the U.S. solar industry and tens of thousands of American jobs," said Jigar Shah, president of CASE.

Last year, SolarWorld asked the U.S. Commerce Department to impose duties of 49.88 percent to 249.96 percent on their Chinese competitors to offset alleged government subsidies and unfair pricing practices. The Commerce is expected to announce the preliminary decision soon.

CASE said it was a coalition of the U.S. solar companies representing 97 percent to 98 percent of the solar industry jobs.

The Solar Foundation, a nonprofit education and research organization, estimated last October that there were more than 100,000 Americans working in the solar industry and projected 24,000 new jobs would be added this year.