President Joe Biden has announced that he will veto any congressional efforts to overturn his decision to waive tariffs on solar panels from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam for the next two years. The move is part of Biden's plan to bridge the gap in US solar panel supplies while domestic manufacturing capacity is built up to support the country's climate change goals.
“These tariffs are needed now to compete with cheap panels made overseas,” said domestic manufacturers, who are pushing for the repeal effort. However, the White House argues that the policy has been working, as demonstrated by an increase in domestic solar manufacturing capacity since Biden came into office. Today, the four Southeast Asian countries make up about 80% of US panel supplies.
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“This legislation would sabotage US energy security,” said Ali Zaidi, Biden's national climate adviser. “It's about fundamentally undermining our progress towards increased energy security and having the tools we need to attack the climate crisis.”
The decision to veto the legislation has not been without its critics. Representative Dan Kildee, a Democrat who co-sponsored the resolution, said that he disagreed with Biden on this issue. “China has been found to have violated our trade laws, yet the United States has failed to respond, including suspending tariffs and letting their unlawful behavior go unanswered,” he said.
The US is on track to increase its domestic solar panel manufacturing capacity eightfold by the end of 2024, another White House official said. However, Biden does not plan to extend the tariff waivers after the two-year period has concluded because domestic manufacturing has taken off.
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“Given the strong trends in the domestic solar industry, the President does not intend to extend the tariff suspension at the conclusion of the 24-month period in June 2024,” the White House said in its Statement of Administration Policy.
As the US continues to build its domestic manufacturing capacity for solar panels, it remains to be seen how this decision will impact the country's ability to compete with cheap foreign-made panels in the future.
