Twelve Dems join Republicans to KILL ban on Chinese-originated solar panel tariffs
Twelve Democrats Join Republicans in KILLING Biden Action That Broke Chinese Solar Manufacturers as Tensions Between the US and the Chinese Communist Party Escalated
- Eight Republicans, including five from New York, voted against the resolution
- Biden last year announced a two-year ban on tariffs on solar panels and components imported from Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam
- Chinese companies circumvent trade laws by channeling their products through Southeast Asian countries
Twelve House Democrats voted with Republicans to repeal a Biden administration rule that exempted Chinese solar panels from tariffs while the US supports domestic production.
Eight Republicans, including five from New York, voted against the resolution.
President Biden last year announced a two-year ban on tariffs on solar panels and components sourced from China but imported from Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, while the US ramps up its mining operations to dig for critical minerals in the panels .
There are already tariffs on panels coming directly from China, but Chinese companies are circumventing trade laws by routing their products through Southeast Asian countries.
Michigan Representative Dan Kildee was the lead Democratic author of the measure. “This should not be a partisan issue,” he said
There are already tariffs on panels coming directly from China, but Chinese companies are circumventing trade laws by routing their products through Southeast Asian countries
Those four countries produce 80 percent of the solar panels used in U.S. projects.
The resolution passed by a vote of 221 to 202 and will now be sent to the Senate, where it is likely to pass. Biden has already announced that he would veto the legislation if it reaches his desk — which would mark the third veto of his presidency.
The measure came about under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows Congress to reverse federal agency rules. Under the CRA, it must be put to a vote and needs only a simple majority to pass the Senate.
Michigan Representative Dan Kildee was the lead Democratic author of the measure.
“This should not be a partisan issue,” Kildee said in a recent statement. We cannot allow foreign solar manufacturers to violate trade laws, especially at the expense of American workers and businesses. By suspending tariffs on those who violate our trade laws, we are undermining our own American manufacturers and workers.”