United States: President Biden cuts tax barriers on solar panel imports
Jun 08, 2022 | Posted by MadalineDunn
On Monday, President Biden launched a clean energy push with the announcement that there will be a two-year break from tariffs on solar panels coming from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, in an effort to bolster clean energy projects in the U.S. Alongside issuing this executive order, Biden also proposed an acceleration of domestic solar panel production via the Defense Production Act (DPA), which will encourage domestic manufacturing of solar-panel-related materials; currently, the sector relies heavily on imports.
Previously, tariffs had been applied to trade from these countries in an effort to prevent Chinese manufacturers from dodging tariffs by exporting through other countries. These tariffs were introduced in 2011, which caused installers in the U.S. to look to Taiwan, however, four years later, the same tariffs were imposed on Taiwan. Solar installers had warned the administration that tariffs would endanger its carbon emissions goal. At present, the U.S. only produces around 3% of solar equipment.
According to a senior administration official who spoke with reporters the day of the announcement, these actions will "spur domestic manufacturing" and "put wind in the sail of construction projects all around the country that are employing folks who are making a good wage." In a statement, the administration outlined the tariff break is limited to two years "to ensure the reliable supply of components that U.S. solar deployers need to construct clean energy projects and an electric grid for the 21st century, while reinforcing the integrity of our trade laws and processes."
Speaking about what this move means, Christian Roselund, a senior policy analyst at Clean Energy Associates, an industry advisory firm, said: "There's a big takeaway here in that when there are conflicting policy priorities, the Biden administration has shown that rapid decarbonization will not be thrown under the bus."
Not everyone supports the move, however, and speaking to The New York Times, Auxin Solar's CEO, Mamun Rashid, said: "By taking this unprecedented — and potentially illegal — action, he has opened the door wide for Chinese-funded special interests to defeat the fair application of U.S. trade law."
Michael Stumo, chief executive of Coalition for a Prosperous America, a nonprofit group that promotes domestic manufacturing, added: "We're getting dependent on hostile countries without sufficient domestic production to ensure against price hikes and supply shocks," said. "Whether it's medicine, or PPE, or solar panels, you've got to have domestic production."
Previously, tariffs had been applied to trade from these countries in an effort to prevent Chinese manufacturers from dodging tariffs by exporting through other countries. These tariffs were introduced in 2011, which caused installers in the U.S. to look to Taiwan, however, four years later, the same tariffs were imposed on Taiwan. Solar installers had warned the administration that tariffs would endanger its carbon emissions goal. At present, the U.S. only produces around 3% of solar equipment.
According to a senior administration official who spoke with reporters the day of the announcement, these actions will "spur domestic manufacturing" and "put wind in the sail of construction projects all around the country that are employing folks who are making a good wage." In a statement, the administration outlined the tariff break is limited to two years "to ensure the reliable supply of components that U.S. solar deployers need to construct clean energy projects and an electric grid for the 21st century, while reinforcing the integrity of our trade laws and processes."
Speaking about what this move means, Christian Roselund, a senior policy analyst at Clean Energy Associates, an industry advisory firm, said: "There's a big takeaway here in that when there are conflicting policy priorities, the Biden administration has shown that rapid decarbonization will not be thrown under the bus."
Not everyone supports the move, however, and speaking to The New York Times, Auxin Solar's CEO, Mamun Rashid, said: "By taking this unprecedented — and potentially illegal — action, he has opened the door wide for Chinese-funded special interests to defeat the fair application of U.S. trade law."
Michael Stumo, chief executive of Coalition for a Prosperous America, a nonprofit group that promotes domestic manufacturing, added: "We're getting dependent on hostile countries without sufficient domestic production to ensure against price hikes and supply shocks," said. "Whether it's medicine, or PPE, or solar panels, you've got to have domestic production."
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