Biden Seeks to Boost US Solar Industry Amid Probe of Potential Chinese Trade Violations
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The White House announced two moves Monday toward boosting U.S. solar panel production.
The Biden administration plans to use the Defense Production Act (DPA) to boost U.S. manufacturing of panels and other clean energy sources, and is also seeking a two-year pause on solar import tariffs from four Southeast Asian countries. The four countries — Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam — are the focus of an ongoing Commerce Department probe into whether Chinese companies are dodging U.S. trade penalties.
The Commerce Department opened a probe in April at the request of California-based solar manufacturer Auxin Solar to investigate whether Chinese companies are skirting solar tariffs by sending products through Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Some solar developers and Democrats say the probe is fueling higher prices and delayed projects due to potential new tariffs. The Solar Energy Industries Association released a statement Monday thanking Biden for moving to tackle "the current crisis of the paralyzed solar supply chain." Auxin Solar said the Monday announcement "opened the door wide for Chinese-funded special interests to defeat the fair application of U.S. trade law."
News sources across the political spectrum focused on how the moves could boost U.S. solar panel production and alleviate supply chain issues. Some coverage from right-rated sources, such as Fox Business, focused more on the Commerce Department's inquiry and potential Chinese trade violations than other sources across the spectrum did.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Solar industry stocks jump as Biden announces tariff suspensionSolar companies and their investors hailed the Biden administration's move to jolt the U.S. solar industry with a new order that both temporarily removes tariffs on imports and bolsters domestic manufacturers.
Why it matters: Solar installations were expected to fall by 7% in 2022, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, as the industry faced supply concerns triggered by the prospect of retroactive penalties applied to previously imported products.
The Commerce Department announced in late March that it was investigating whether Chinese solar manufacturers improperly circumvented duties by subsidizing production in several southeast Asia...
From the Left
Biden invokes Defense Production Act to boost solar panel manufacturingWASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is using his executive powers Monday to boost the domestic production of solar panels and their parts and will issue a 24-month tariff exemption on imports of the products from several countries.
The White House said Biden will authorize the use of the Defense Production Act to accelerate manufacturing of solar panels in the United States as a way to strengthen the administration's efforts to shift the country toward clean energy.
The move will allow the Department of Energy to "rapidly expand" U.S. manufacturing of solar...
From the Right
Biden suspends tariffs on solar panels from Southeast Asia amid measures to boost supplies to US manufacturersPresident Biden on Monday authorized emergency measures to boost supplies for the American solar power industry in an effort to address his climate change-fighting goals and fight escalating costs.
To that end, the White House announced a two-year pause in tariffs on solar panels from Southeast Asia amid complaints by industry groups that the solar sector is being slowed by supply chain problems and a Commerce Department inquiry into possible trade violations involving Chinese products.
"Roughly half of the domestic deployment of solar modules that had been anticipated over the next year...
AllSides Picks
April 17th, 2024
April 17th, 2024
April 17th, 2024