Biden waives solar panel tariffs, seeks to boost production
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to invoke the Defense Production Act to increase U.S. manufacturing of solar panels while declaring a two-year tariff exemption on panels from Southeast Asia. He's attempting to jumpstart an industry key to his climate change-fighting goals that advocates say has been disrupted by a federal investigation.
The White House announced Monday that the moves will be implemented using executive actions and presidential proclamations. They follow months of complaints by industry groups, which argue that the solar sector is being slowed by supply chain problems due to an ongoing Commerce Department inquiry into possible trade violations involving Chinese products.
The Commerce Department announced in March that it was scrutinizing imports of solar panels from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, concerned that products from those countries are skirting U.S. anti-dumping rules that limit imports from China.
White House officials said Biden's actions aim to increase domestic production of solar panel parts, building installation materials, high-efficiency heat pumps and other components like cells used for clean-energy generated fuels. They called the tariff suspension affecting imports from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia a bridge measure while other efforts increase domestic solar power production — even as the administration remains supportive of U.S. trade laws and the Commerce Department investigation.
Word that the Biden administration was moving to ease solar tariffs pushed Wall Street futures higher early Monday.
The Commerce Department has defended its investigation. Secretary Gina Raimondo told a Senate panel in May that the solar inquiry is following a process set by law that doesn’t allow consideration of...
