At the Intersolar North America conference in San Francisco last July, a U.S.-based executive with a Tier 1 Chinese manufacturer of photovoltaic cells expressed dismay over anti-dumping trade sanctions.

Calling the tariff environment “shocking,” the executive pointed out that not only is the health of Chinese manufacturers important for the decades of warranties on installed product they will be needed to stand behind, but there is the golden goose aspect of killing the very source of the installation industry’s good fortune.

More like a shot in the foot, perhaps. The Chinese manufacturers, with a vast domestic market, Japanese demand, and growing and widening emerging markets around the globe, are probably going to be just fine. Solar project developers in the U.S. and those who depend on them for jobs are the ones who should be worried.

More on point, the executive rightly pointed out that revenue losses are likely to be reflected in research and development (R&D) cutbacks. Finding markets for existing inventory and manufacturing capacity takes priority.

Whatever the industry, R&D goes on the chopping block fairly quickly in hard times. A company’s time horizon contracts and planning for the future becomes a matter of the next quarterly report with an eye toward surviving the next shareholder meeting. Even private technology companies will find their backers’ pockets are not so deep when the market for their bright ideas dries up.

This is not to say that hard times kills all progress. It can force companies to focus on practical improvements, sometimes with positive results.

According to NPD Solarbuzz, technology development in silicon-based PV modules was curtailed by dramatic price reductions and low margins caused by market oversupply that has only bottomed out this year. Solar cell manufacturers curtailed major factory expansions during the glut, allocating modest resources instead to incremental improvements to existing lines and focusing on higher quality raw materials. The result was improved cell efficiencies and a healthier supply chain. Such companies are primed for more dramatic improvements when R&D budgets revive - if trade wars don’t keep them suppressed.