By Sethuraman N R

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Indian solar module maker Waaree

Energies is confident of U.S. demand and is positioned

to manage possible import tariffs under President Donald Trump,

thanks to its operations in the state of Texas, CEO Amit

Paithankar said on Friday.

Last week, Trump ordered a pause on spending from his

predecessor's climate and infrastructure laws and tax credits in

clean industries, as well as suspension of new offshore wind

power leasing.

The United States, a key market for Indian solar module

makers, accounted for nearly one-fifth of Waaree's revenue in

the past nine months. However, concerns over Trump's clean

energy stance have weighed on Waaree's stock, which has lost

about 36% since hitting a peak soon after its October listing.

Waaree's shares rose 10% on Friday, a day after it reported

about three-fold jump in its third-quarter profit.

"In the last month or so, we have been in touch with all of

our key customers. Our order book remains to be strong... Our

pipeline for the U.S. orders has only increased," Paithankar

told Reuters in an interview.

"And we'll be closely monitoring the tariff regime as it is

rolled out," he said.

Paithankar said Waaree will decide based on any new tariffs

whether to manufacture more in India or scale up capacity at its

recently commissioned 1.6 gigawatts (GW) module manufacturing

plant in Brookshire, Texas, to as much as 3 GW.

Outside the U.S., Waaree is looking at new export markets

including the Middle East, Africa and Australia, Paithankar

said.

In India, Waaree expects most of its 5.4 GW solar cell

manufacturing capacity in the western state of Gujarat to be

operational by March-April this year. The company has about 13.3

GW of module-making capacity in the country.