Solar

Biden vetos repeal of his solar tariff pause

Biden vetos repeal of his solar tariff pause
September 14, 2021 - Joe Biden, President of the United States, speaks during a visit the Flatirons Campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Arvada, Colorado. The President received insight into NREL’s long-term research mission, vision, and critical objectives which directly align with his decarbonization goals and national energy priorities.(Photo by Werner Slocum / NREL).

As expected, President Biden vetoed a bipartisan congressional effort to repeal his two-year tariff pause on solar modules imported from Southeast Asia.

In response to the House of Representatives explaining his veto of H.J. Resolution 39, Biden said that the tariff moratorium was meant to offer a "bridge" to allow new domestic manufacturers to ramp production capacity and capitalize on investments made under the Inflation Reduction Act.

"Passage of this resolution bets against American innovation," Biden said. "It would undermine these efforts and create deep uncertainty for American businesses and workers in the solar industry."

Solar industry trade groups praised the May 16 veto. The move had been expected for weeks as legislation moved through the House and Senate. Biden also said that he does not intend to extend the tariff pause after it expires in June 2024.

GO DEEPER: International trade attorney Tim Brightbill, an expert on solar tariff cases, joined Episode 47 of the Factor This! podcast to break down the road ahead for the Auxin Solar tariff petition. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

A bipartisan group in Congress aimed to use the Congressional Review Act to undo Biden's tariff moratorium, which was issued June 6, 2022, to ease industry concerns over the Commerce Department's circumvention investigation into modules imported from Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Thailand.

Together, the countries account for 80% of modules supplied to U.S. projects.

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. 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 trade group had claimed reversal of the tariff moratorium would have resulted in $1 billion in retroactive tariffs, and led to the elimination of 30,000 jobs.

"(The president's veto) is a reaffirmation of the administration’s commitment to business certainty in the clean energy sector, and a signal to companies to continue creating jobs, building domestic manufacturing capacity and investing in American communities," SEIA CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said in a statement.