House Advances Measure to Undo Biden’s Tariff Shield for Chinese Solar Panels

Breaking news! The House Rules Committee has voted for a bill that could undo the Biden administration’s emergency move to protect some Chinese-made solar panels from tariffs. The bill is now closer to a vote in the full House, but President Joe Biden has threatened to veto it.

The resolution, known as House Joint Resolution 39, passed 9 to 4 and was co-sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans. Supporters of the bill, like Jason Smith (R-Mo.), believe that we need more accountability for unfair trade practices that have given China a dominant position in solar production. However, opponents, like Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), argue that this proposal would harm our ability to meet our climate goals and slow down solar installation.

Legislation’s Path

The House Ways and Means Committee advanced the same legislation on April 19, and the bill may come to the House floor as early as this week. An equivalent bill was also introduced in February by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).

The White House has warned that Biden would veto the legislation, but supporters of the bill believe that Congress must act to hold accountable bad actors in global trade, and in particular, Chinese wrongdoing.

Solar Tariff Shield

The rule in question follows Biden’s June 2022 emergency proclamation concerning a stated need for additional solar energy capacity. The proclamation states that additions of solar capacity and batteries were expected to account for over half of new electric sector capacity in 2022 and 2023. However, the unavailability of solar cells and modules jeopardizes those planned additions, which in turn threatens the availability of sufficient electricity generation capacity to serve expected customer demand.

Electricity produced through solar energy is critical to reducing our dependence on electricity generated from fossil fuels, and it’s important that we find a way to balance our need for clean energy with fair trade practices.