The U.S. Senate has voted to repeal President Joe Biden's two-year pause on tariffs on solar modules imported from Southeast Asia, sending the bill to the president's desk after clearing the House a week prior.
President Biden is expected to veto the bill after neither chamber was able to overcome the two-thirds threshold needed to block executive branch intervention.
The effort to reverse the president's tariff moratorium "poses a threat to the American economy and the clean energy transition," according to Gregory Wetstone, CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy. "We urge President Biden to veto this destructive legislation.”
Subscribe today to the all-new Factor This! podcast from Renewable Energy World. This podcast is designed specifically for the solar industry and is available wherever you get your podcasts.
President Biden issued an executive order on June 6 that paused for two years any new tariffs solar modules, imported from Southeast Asia, which accounts for 80% of modules supplied to the U.S., and prevented retroactive tariffs as the Commerce Department carried out its investigation of the Auxin Solar tariff petition.
Auxin Solar, a small solar manufacturer based in San Jose, Calif., alleged that manufacturers in China are using Southeast Asia as a conduit to evade U.S. trade duties. The four countries under investigation — Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia — account for around 80% of solar modules supplied to the U.S.
Commerce issued a preliminary determination in December that found some manufacturers are circumventing U.S. trade laws. A final ruling in the investigation has been pushed to August.
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) trade group claims reversal of the tariff moratorium would result in $1 billion in retroactive tariffs, and lead to the elimination of 30,000 jobs.
In a statement, SEIA CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said "politics one the day" following the Senate vote, adding that U.S. manufacturers need time to realize the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act and ramp up domestic production capacity.
“Energy workers across the country are looking to President Biden to protect their livelihoods," she said. "We urge the President to quickly and decisively veto this damaging resolution.”
