Rubio Joins Bipartisan Colleagues In Urging President Biden To Renew Safeguard Tariffs On Solar Panels Manufactured In China
Press Release
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Roger Marshall (R-KS) in sending a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to heed the unanimous recommendation of the International Trade Commission (ITC) and extend the Section 201 safeguard tariffs on Chinese-manufactured solar panels for another four years.
In May 2017, U.S. solar panel manufacturers filed a Section 201 safeguard petition with the ITC, seeking global tariffs in response to surges of solar panels, particularly from China. The ITC unanimously found that surging imports had injured U.S. solar panel producers. In January 2018, President Trump concurred with the ITC recommendation to impose a four year safeguard measure on foreign solar panels. With the safeguard set to expire, and the ITC recommending the renewal of safeguard tariffs, it is up to the Biden Administration to extend the tariffs for another four years to protect American solar panel manufacturers. In the letter, the senators noted that it is vital for the extended safeguard to apply to bifacial solar modules, which are currently not subject to the current tariff regime. The importation of Chinese-manufactured bifacial solar panels is also causing serious harm to domestic solar manufacturers.
"American solar manufacturing should be a key part of the clean energy economy, but despite the United States leading the world in solar research and development, China's exploitative industrial and trade practices continue to hinder the growth of a strong U.S. solar supply chain," the senators wrote. "We can only build that capacity if our trade laws are utilized and enforced to the fullest extent possible. Doing so will support American workers and businesses, promote fair trade, minimize the environmental impacts of solar manufacturing and reduce global supply chain reliance on forced labor."
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