U. S. may cancel tariffs on solar energy
2023.01.26 08:29
U. S. may cancel tariffs on solar energy
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – According to a statement provided to Reuters, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers will present a resolution on Thursday in the House of Representatives to repeal President Joe Biden’s suspension of import tariffs on solar panels from four Southeast Asian nations.
The purpose of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, which grants Congress the authority to overturn federal regulations with a simple majority, is to support domestic solar producers, who have struggled to compete with cheap panels produced overseas, frequently by Chinese companies.
In a statement, Democrat Representative Dan Kildee of Michigan said:
“We cannot allow foreign solar manufacturers to violate trade law, especially when it comes at the expense of American workers and businesses.”
Along with three Republicans—Bill Posey of Florida, Garret Graves of Louisiana, and Bob Latta of Ohio—and two Democrats—Bill Pascrell of New Jersey and Terri Sewell of Alabama—Kildee is presenting the CRA.
Congress can reverse federal rules with a simple majority under the CRA, a 1996 law. If a CRA bill is not passed within 60 days of its introduction, it goes out of effect and prevents the federal government from ever issuing a rule with “substantially the same form.”
The solar industry in the United States has argued that tariffs on panels from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam would stop the development of clean energy projects needed to meet Biden’s ambitious climate change goals if the policy were to be repealed.
About 80% of the panel supplies in the United States come from the four countries.
Biden waived tariffs on solar products from four Southeast Asian nations last year in response to these concerns. The Commerce Department was looking into the possibility that those imports were evading duties on goods made in China and in violation of U.S. trade law.
Months later, Commerce made a preliminary decision to impose new duties on some imports from those nations, but due to Biden’s two-year waiver, they won’t take effect until June 2024.
The tariff exemption, according to the White House, will act as a stopgap while the American industry expands. Last year, Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act included substantial incentives for domestic production of clean energy products.
